Comey: "It is deeply concerning that the president of the United States would try to protect himself by torching the institutions of justice."
Much more deeply concerning is that a Director of the FBI who famously said "I don't do sneaky things, I don't leak, I don't do weasel moves" engaged in exactly those activities in a vain attempt to take down the president of the United States.
Although Comey dismissed at least a part of the notorious Steele Dossier as "salacious and unverified" in his 2017 testimony before Congress, the FBI still used it to obtain a warrant from the FISA Court on volunteer Trump advisor Carter Page in 2016 (with renewals that extended into 2017) without disclosing to the Court that Steele was a Trump-hating agent provocateur paid (though cut-outs) by the Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee.
The forthcoming Michael Horowitz IG report on the FISA warrants (which has been underway for almost a year) will
shed more light on the unsavory way these warrants were obtained under Comey's watch.
Trump may correctly be viewed by his many gaffes and frequent stupid tweets as someone temperamentally unfit to be president, but that doesn't make him the traitor his political opponents hope he will be exposed as by the Mueller investigation.
15
Mr. C has already caused enough trouble in our country...now it is time for him to be quiet. Please fade away and we can move on to the future without your interference!
23
A day late and a dollar short, Mr. Comey. It was you who sent the letter October 28 that influenced an election. Where was your sense of fair play then?
41
Mr. Comey continues to be an honorable man, I believe. But his political instincts are almost criminally deficient. He DID contribute to Trump's election by defying Justice Dept. guidelines that Mueller will observe, that is, if you don't find cause to indict, you say no more than that. (And you certainly don't speak out so close to an election.) Now, the only thing that will be taken from his odd column is: Don't impeach. But this is again foolish. Don't impeach if the evidence of high crimes is slight or dubious; don't shy from impeachment if the evidence is strong and clear.
23
We can only hope the same for you, Mr. Comey, when you are investigated. I am not a Trump fan, but Comey is a hypocrite to come here and talk about blind justice.
18
We are legally required to believe OJ is innocent. Does anyone believe OJ is innocent? Trump U and the Trump Foundation are proven scams. Donald Trump has surrounded himself with convicted criminals. Donald Trump does not take the presidency seriously. Donald Trump is a national embarrassment. The question that remains unanswered is why Putin wanted Donald Trump to be president so badly. When the end product is finally revealed we will have no way to know the extent to which it was doctored by Donald Trump's wrecking crew. But in the miraculous event that the answer to the aforementioned question in fact survives, to hold Donald Trump harmless, to allow him to do more damage than he has already done, in order to appease the cult followers so that they don't go on a rampage, is nothing short of feckless.
29
"I just hope we are up to it."
We're not. Even conservatives that hate Trump, will still vote for him unless another republican primaries him. Because they believe that democrats hate America, that we support infanticide, and that we want criminals from South America to come here and rape their families.
Republican controlled states do everything they to suppress the vote, including removing people from voter rolls unjustifiably, closing polling places, etc.
They only way we'll vote Trump out of office is if every rational person makes sure they're registered and then votes.
20
"I’m not rooting for Mr. Mueller to demonstrate that he is a criminal."
Baloney. After his humiliating firing at the hands of Trump, Comey wouldn't be human if that sentence were true.
12
Mister Comey, you seem not to grasp the seriousness of the situation we are now in.
You did not grasp how hazardous it was for HRC to lose the election because of your announcements about her email.
We are in a pickle because of your insistence that following the law is all that is really necessary. There are other concerns beyond that. This is not a game.
14
Lordy, Mr. Comey. I wish you had demonstrated this cautiousness and reticence before you destroyed Hillary Clinton's candidacy and played an enormous role in giving us the administration that is grievously wounding our country.
IMHO it's too late to portray yourself as a good soldier in service to any one or anything but yourself and your appalling ego.
26
What I want from James Comey--go away and never seek the spotlight again.
22
Hey, I don't give a doodley dodo either, jimbo. Whatever he does is a-ok with me. Bet I'm not the only one, because he did win if you recall. And it will happen again in a coupla years. But no worries, you can just write another book in your cell.
6
Why should we care what James Comey thinks or expects? Is this not the same James Comey who was fired ignominiously and tried to undermine and eject a duly elected president? The justice system does work, Mr. Comey, as you are no longer in power to undermine our elections and choices. A pox on you!
15
Dear Mr. Comey,
We were coup'd in 2016, and, quite frankly, you participated in that coup. I'm willing to entertain the possibility that your complicity was unknowing, and yet you did participate just the same.
#WeSeeYou and all the other complicit Republicans.
8
"I am rooting for a demonstration to the world — and maybe most of all to our president and his enablers — that the United States has a justice system that works because there are people who believe in it and rise above personal interest and tribalism. "
Uh, don't you mean rather than "our president and his enablers" "the Democrats who care calling for something to sunstitute for a coup by them"?
Oh, my, reading further, to the bottom ... you do recognize that the Democrats want a coup.
Then you destroy all of you already non-existant credibility
by saying "busy lives to show that they are united by something even more important: the belief that the president of the United States cannot be a chronic liar who repeatedly attacks the rule of law. " Which is itself a lie ... Trump is the one SUPOPORTING the rule of law, specifically, the laws governing immigration into our country, which the Democrats actually try to evade, allowing the death of American citizens by murder by people who legally should have been deported.
5
Comey stopped the investigation into Hillary for political reasons showing that the justice system is political and routinely ignores the rule of law for the political class. He also showed that the DOJ is political and wants a say in who is president by using a fake dossier, one that he knew was unverified and supplied by the opposition party to start a political witch hunt. Comey lied to congress and earned his firing showing that we have a system of laws and rules for one group that doesn't apply to another. He is a disgrace.
9
Too bad Comey didn’t properly handle himself during the 2016 election. I’m referring of course to his two disastrous “Comey letters” regarding Hillary Clinton investigations /non investigations. Were it not for Comey’s massive mistakes in judgement It’s pretty likely that Hillary would be President now and the sick joke that is Conald trump would merely be a moronic tweeter instead of “President” Tweeter.
I just as soon never see or hear of James Comey again. Let him get busy with some low key charitable acts and stay out of the news.
16
You seem like a nice guy Mr. Comey, but I must confess that because you made serious mistakes that, to me, betray your ability to understand what it will take to be dispositive toward fulfilling goals you articulate poorly and incompletely in this opinion piece, it seems to me what you think now is irrelevant.
First, if you personally know "many people" who are well-informed about the evidence available to Mueller, intelligent people who think the report should proclaim Trump to be a criminal, give us a few names so we can follow up, with them, on your claim.
Second, you say Trump is morally unfit to be president. I give up, what are some questions you would ask a candidate that will reveal who is unfit and who is not. Be specific please.
Lastly, for now, you write: "I don’t know all the considerations that will go into deciding precisely what to say about the completion of that work and when to say it." I believe you. Your ignorance and incredible lack of timing on how to protect the public interest, I believe, is responsible for helping this crude, vulgar, showoff be handed the powers of the U.S. Presidency. I suggest that if you really have any creative ideas that someone can use, give them directly to those who can implement them with far better judgment than you possess. Sine die.
4
Frankly, I want Comey indicted along with whoever else conspired with him at the FBI and DOJ. This is not a complicated story.
13
Of course you don't care if the Mueller report finds collusion between the Trump campaign and the Russian government to put Donald Trump in the White House, Mr. Comey. A smoking gun would have been nice for you and the rest of the rogue bureaucrats working to undermine the president, but a perfectly acceptable consolation prize was to stoke a mania that has infected our politics since before Trump's inauguration. So, mission accomplished.
The cost in political division and a precipitous rise in irrationality on the left has been high, but let's face it: America is and was always going to be sharply divided. Trump isn't a cause but rather a convenient foil. No matter. Elections keep rolling around. Vote the bums out, and start moving toward your side's own perfect world.
By the way, I love the "NYT Picks" comment regarding "a certain segment of the population resorting to violence" if Congress moves to impeach. A certain segment has already resorted to violence time and again because of Trump - only it wasn't his supporters.
4
What he said! Listen up, Congress and Democrats!
2
"The rule of law depends upon fair administration of justice, which is rooted in complete and unbiased investigation...that the United States has a justice system that works because there are people who believe in it and rise above personal interest and tribalism." Excuse me? Peter Strzok and Lisa Page...unbiased? No tribalism at the very top of the FBI? Comey himself committed a crime, leaking to the New York Times via his professor friend, to game the system into appointing a special counsel in the first instance. The primary basis of the whole thing being the bogus "dossier" that DOJ and the FBI intentionally misused as the cornerstone of an "investigation". Their little "insurance policy". Talk about hypocrisy!
6
I share the concern that impeachment would inevitably be seen as something of a coup, and that an election defeat would be less divisive. But the election seems a long time away and a lot of damage could occur between now and then.
But if enough damning and incontrovertible facts emerge a negotiated resignation is a possibility, one likes to hope.
6
Please Mr. Mueller give us your report. Its been too long and cost too much money. Whether its a definitive expose of high crimes and misdemeanors or a witch hunt we are waiting.
Have you ever hired a lawyer? They will keep lawyering as long as the money keeps coming. It happened with Ken Starr and its happening with Dick Mueller. Please give us your report.
1
It is ironic that James Comey is calling for the demonstration of a justice system that works, when he is the one who abandoned normal procedures to torpedo Hillary Clinton's candidacy about the stupid emails, all the while shielding Donald Trump's candidacy from the real and dangerous investigations going on about him.
Comey you have zero credibility with me.
10
Mr. Comey can go away now. His careless remarks gave Mr Trump the upper hand in the election. Not sure why he thinks his opinion is relevant and why the NYT publishes.
6
Comey is like Alec Gunness' Col Nicholson in Bridge On the River Kwai.
2
So gives us the report!! Stop talking about giving it to us and give it to us!
4
Here's what I want from James Comey: Stop preaching, stop pontificating, just stop period. We would not have a Mueller investigation or the mentally unsound and unfit person in the white house if were not for your blundering. So please Mr. Comey. Stop.
7
Well said!!
Since he was installed, the illegitimate president has spent more time attacking americans than anything else.
He's got ONE legislative "accomplishment", tax cuts for the wealthiest that add trillions to the debt, continuing fascist republican tradition.
3
Hey, we've already had our coup. And you played a role in it. So stop with the crocodile tears already.
8
Really?
Is that what you did when you broke etiquette and torched Hillary’s chances?
My man, you are the last person who should be lecturing the American people. We call tha chutzpah.
8
Alter Boy Comey needs to be arrested and tried for Sedition.
5
Mr. Comey, you should be in jail. You, Brennan, McCabe, Sally Yates, Lois Lerner, Obama, Hillary, Blasey Ford, Huma, Cheryl Mills, Susan Rice, Rosenstein, Mueller, Strozk, Page. Clapper, Lynch and entire phony FISA crowd should all go to jail. You all leaked and lied and colluded. The laws are currently only being applied in order to destroy the GOP and Trump, family and associates. In other words, the Left is cheating. That's going to destroy our country. "A house divided against itself cannot stand" (Jesus Christ said).
4
The power to impeach, convict and remove a president is the sole means the drafters of the USS Constitution provided to establish the Congress as the people's board of directors the president reports and answers to.
3
I'm a life-long liberal, a lawyer, and a former law clerk for a federal judge. I agree with everything Mr. Comey says here. I despise Trump. I wish him ill. But I don't want him proven to be a criminal. I don't want the facts to show collusion with the Russians. If the Mueller Report shows that either is true I want Trump in jail. But I don't want either to be true. Let him be remembered as the pustule that once grew on the body politic which reminds future generations of what apathy on the part of some and misplaced enthusiasm on the part of others can wreak.
3
Comey's afraid of impeachment being seen as a coup?
Interestingly, he wasn't afraid of Russian meddling being seen that way, or McConnell's stealing of a Supreme Court seat.
It seems there's a double standard. Republicans can do whatever underhanded, unconstitutional things they want, and Dems are just supposed to try not to offend them about it.
4
Mr. Comey’s verbose article doesn't make much sense. He is right to say that “The interests of justice will also be best served by maximum transparency about the special counsel’s work.” But don’t the interests of justice also demand that the guilty be punished?
It’s so noble of him to entertain the hope that the man who did everything to destroy his carer and reputation “is not impeached and removed from office before the end of his term.” Won’t it be a dereliction of responsibility on the part of Congress if, after completing “the process of impeachment governed by our Constitution,” it abstains from taking the next logical step? The next logical step is removal from office, if found guilty.
Does Comey want the process to be suspended until the next election because of his misplaced fear that “a significant portion of this country would see this [impeachment] as a coup”? Not just a significant portion of this country, the majority in the country voted against him in the last next election. But the peculiar way in which the Electoral College works got him elected. If definition of democracy is rule of the majority the Electoral College makes a mockery of it. Until that antiquated institution is abolished, the possibility of Trump being reelected cannot be rule out. The votes of the majority “united” by their "belief that the president of the United States cannot be a chronic liar who repeatedly attacks the rule of law” would count for nothing, Mr. Comey may please note.
1
Mr. Comey seems to want to spare Trump's base from going off the deep end if Trump gets impeached. I would argue that it's too late for that. His argument is summarized by the following quote, "Because if Mr. Trump were removed from office by Congress, a significant portion of this country would see this as a coup, and it would drive those people farther from the common center of American life, more deeply fracturing our country."
What about the rest of us who represent a majority of the country and who feel that our country has been stolen from us? From packing the courts, to destroying the environment, to encouraging racists, and on and on....it is Republicans, empowered by Trump and right wing media, who are ruining this country.
I'm so angry I can't sleep at night, and Comey is worried about the crazy MAGA people. No wonder he tried to destroy Clinton's candidacy.
6
I don't know whether Trump will be impeached or not, but to suggest that impeachment should be off the table because it is too upsetting to Trump supporters -- to hear that sentiment from a law enforcement agent is very troubling. It's as if to say, don't go after Al Capone, because he has so many thugs in his gang and they'll be very upset and angry.
If Comey is for unbiased justice, he should be more willing to let the chips fall where they may.
4
If Trump became president by way of conspiracy and criminality, he is the perpetrator of a coup.
The idea that a criminal president who is removed from office is the victim of a coup is absurd.
The fact that GOP propagandists have been gaslighting both deep state and coup conspiracy theories since the 2016 election only suggests they knew they were up to no good from the very beginning.
4
I'm more anti-Hillary than pro-Trump, but agree with many of his policies. However, the ongoing assault by the MSM -- led by the Times, is simply further polarizing the country. The half truths told by those in the media re-Trump -- the calls since before he took office for him to be removed etc., are simply disgusting. See Leonhardt's column today for a prime example of misrepresentation of known info about Russian "collusion."
And if Mueller's report has firm evidence that Trump worked with Russia (or his staff did so at his direction) to undermine the election -- then I'll support impeachment. But I mean actually colluded -- as in worked together. Having foreknowledge of wikileaks isn't colluding. I would consider it collusion and a crime if Trump used Russia to actually affect the voting process in exchange for future favors. But we have no evidence of that.
If the report is merely innuendo, supposition, etcv. -- then no. If congress pursues impeachment anyway -- then I'll be annoyed to where I'll actively oppose every democratic candidate for office (I'm near that point anyway given their bad behavior during Trump's admin) from now on.
What the left has to admit is that the only person running for president who colluded with Russia was HRC -- who paid for the Steele dossier that was put together from anonymous Russian sources. The only party that tried to rig the election was the dems (poor Bernie).
5
I generally respect what James Comey has to say, and consider his actions before the 2016 elections an anomaly, but those actions helped to put us where we are today. If our laws were actually fair, Mr. Comey would also have revealed the FBI investigation into Donald Trump, but he didn’t.
For years the law turned a blind eye to the the workings of the Trump organization, and to Donald Trump himself. No other president in our history could have been elected had he possessed the history of Donald Trump. So as we wait for the Mueller Report, I’m prepared for disappointment. I don’t really care that, if found guilty of collusion with the Russians, his base would view this as a coup. I care that the laws of this land work, that a known criminal, an incompetent, petty man, not flaunt our laws, saying, look at me, “I can shoot someone on Fifth Avenue, and nothing will happen”. Please Mr. Mueller, prove him wrong.
6
I’m sorry but when a person shouts to a foreign government to attack one of our government leaders and assist him in public that is collusion in my book.
Even if that individual is dirty you are asking a foreign power to break and enter on your behalf to aid in your agenda.
We see he and his family is handed massive s soles of wealth and never has to pay it back. How is this possible?
This looks like a coup. Maybe he is just an unwittingly retrograde individual but he has managed through nepotism and corruption to place a myriad of very capable corrupt individuals in power through out our government to subvert and attack its ability to function for the people but instead for a select group where desired.
Though he may be unwittingly involved the actions of the republicans and their choice of leadership throughout government is quite dangerous.
4
"Because if Mr. Trump were removed from office by Congress, a significant portion of this country would see this as a coup,....." Mr. Comey says.
So if the leader of this country committed high crimes and/or misdemeanors (including felony election fraud with the $130,000 payoffs), we're just supposed to give him a pass until Jan 2021?? Unreal.
4
No we must not let El Trumpo off the hook if indeed evidence is presented concerning his criminal life. Mr. Comey presumes we are nation that would be further divided by impeachment and that somehow we must comet together and unite. But I think he underestimates the degree to which we are divided and overestimates our capacity to reach some sort of reunification. Republicans are fully supporting Trumpo's call for war on law and order. It really won't matter by what means we take down the coward in chief. We must win the war and put the coward and his primary enablers in prison for a long while. As such avoiding impeachment might be a good idea if we alternatively indict Individual I and his co-conspirators as soon as he loses the 2020 election. No Nixon/Agnew redux.
Comey has no credibility anymore. He lied before congress and claimed he did not recall, can't remember, or does not know basic facts the Director of the FBI would be required to know.
He is worse than Trump ever will be. Nobody is rooting for anything Comey wants. Mueller will issue a report that clears Trump of any wrong doing. What will the exploding heads in the msm do then?
3
Given the outrageously weak and inappropriate justifications under which this investigation and special counsel were initiated, it isn't surprising at all that the president would be out there vocally defending himself against what is soon to be confirmed as a borderline treasonous attempt by ideologically motivated federal bureaucrats to remove him from office by any means neccessary.
Yeah, but the thought of tying the hands of our representatives from doing what they agree is right (related to impeachment in this case) out of fear of upsetting a (relatively) few angry white men is extremely problematic for our democracy, not to mention reprehensible. How is that any different than what the GOP representatives have been doing the last 2 years?
2
James Comey was unfit to be FBI director.
Mr. Comey politicized the FBI and has damaged the reputation of the agency FBI forever. The real collusion scandal was between the FBI and the Clinton campaign.
3
I just want the results to be conclusive and available to the public.
If Trump committed a crime he should be impeached, no matter how salty his supporters might become.
"Let justice be done though the heavens fall”
3
It's too late in the game for impeachment. A beleaguered nation doesn't need months and months of fighting with the White House. Our energies should go into the 2020 election which will be here before we know it. It is then and only then that we can exercise our collective will and get rid of the scourge that is Donald Trump & Co.
3
The United States has not had a justice system that works for a long, long time. The Mueller report will do nothing to change that, so hoping it will is, I'm sorry, naive.
Justice would be finding out exactly what was said in the Trump Tower meeting. Justice would be finding out exactly what was said in the private meeting in Helsinki between Putin and Trump. Justice would be if white collar criminals were punished by the same standard of justice as petty thieves or drug offenders. We have two systems of justice in this country.
3
If we are a nation of laws, it's just a matter of time before we know how many of them Trump has already violated. The breaking of those laws determined through Mueller's investigation are one set of laws. Then there are the breaking of laws that may be determined by New York State, there's so many laws to choose from. And then there are other investigations into financial matters that may reveal bank fraud, insurance fraud, and tax fraud.
Trump can shout "no collusion" even while Russia is waving the stained sheets from the Moscow Ritz Carlton's rooftop - I honestly don't care what his fans think.
His fans applaud the man who walks into his rallies wearing a suit he had manufactured in a sweatshop in China while he screams out racial slurs and threatens violence on people while he hides behind a half-dozen bodyguards. I don't care for Trump's fans.
Trump's dismissal of the rest of us as unworthy of our citizenship along with his cowardice, unhinged bigotry and narcissism, and his rampant disregard and disrespect for any law he can get away with breaking is why the morally bankrupt fraud should go down in flames.
I keep hearing the question, "will he?"
Why wait. Impeach the crook.
7
It is a love-hate relationship with Mr. Comey depending on the day. Hate him when he did his job. Love him when he throws rocks at the President.
I'm sure today he is very full of himself again.
1
I think it's going to take a little bit more than the Mueller Report to get America's credibility back. It might be a generation before the world looks the same at us again.
2
The only thing is that, if he isn't impeached, he could lie, cheat and steal his way to another electoral college victory.
I honestly would rather see another Republican that's a stronger candidate than take a chance that that will happen.
In 2016 the left was pretty happy with a pathological candidate who was considered to weak to win. Then he won and it's going to be a long time cleaning up the mess.
He's obviously unfit. Republicans need to save their party and our country by getting him out and nominating someone else.
2
The system already failed to work once, when the electoral college did not prevent an ignorant, vicious, mentally-declining demagogue from taking office.
If we have to leave him in office, even after he has openly tried to obstruct justice, just to cater to the deluded or the venal, then the system REALLY does not work.
Comey ought to be talking to his fellow Republicans, particularly the lawmakers, who lie in sympathy with Trump to keep him in office, even when they know better.
3
Sorry... If the Mueller Report reveals that their investigative research has uncovered that Russia interfered in our election and that Trump and his team participated in this fiasco... he should be promptly impeached and prosecuted. The POTUS represents and serves the American Citizens. If Trump participated and/or had knowledge of Russia's interference in the 2016 election and has been dishonest about his knowledge, he should be treated and prosecuted. The same laws that every citizen of this country must uphold must hold true for Donald Trump. To let this go... and ignore abhorrent, criminal behavior by the leader of this country... stabs a mortal wound in the foundation...the heart of our democratic society. Let the Mueller Report proceed and release the imperative findings. If Trump is guilty he must be impeached and prosecuted.
2
Looking at the usual demeanour of Trump's Republican base and his propaganda machine on Fox News it is doubtful that any of these people will be open to such wishful preaching.
The mentality of Trump's MAGA Americans seems more like that of bloodhounds, which have smelled the blood of those they hate on the 'other' side of the intellectual spectrum of the nation and will not stop at much to tear it to pieces.
This divide of America and Americans exposed through Trump's viscious, despicable manipulations to secure his own power can no longer be bridged with reason, faith or hope for the sake of all Americans and America's standing in the free world.
Trump's base does not care and knows little of a world outside their own narrow perceptions of hate and their desperate need for a fake supremacy.
A former FBI director, of all people, should know that.
2
More self-righteous preening from the man whose horrendous judgement cemented Trump’s victory. I really don’t care what Jim Comey wants - all I want is for him and Trump to go away.
2
Interpreting Comey here:
Congress should not impeach Trump because the president's base is crazy and would make trouble.
Oh, OK. Never mind.
1
After reading your book, I am forced to conclude that you have a lot to answer for.
You may think you were being objective, James Comey, but when you & the FBI already had an investigation going into Trump's more-than-bizarre Russia connections, why did you not believe it was important to sound the alarm to the public? Couldn't at least the FEC or the RNC be told, in unambiguous terms, that Trump might be compromised? That someone not tainted by Russian operations ought to be the nominee?
Trump 1st visited Moscow at the behest & under the aegis of Anatoly Dobrynin, a known quantity. Even if his visits to Russia were all about making money, how could that possibly not be a red flag for anyone running for high public office? There had never been such a candidate from a major party before! Harry Reid, appropriately enough, prodded you to alert the people about Trump being under investigation.
Yet even as you consciously steered voters away from trusting Hillary, you simultaneously steered them towards trusting Trump.
That was a mistake, a simple human mistake. But what a colossal failure of judgment!
Given that you took the bold step of holding a press conference about the Democratic candidate, you could have in all fairness used that same conference to admit that there were grave questions about the Republican candidate as well.
If the RNC chose to run a Kremlin asset, that's on them.
Cleaning up this mess has turned into a Herculean task, thanks to FOX/Murdoch, &c.
1
Comey, I stopped reading at this paragraph,
"Wondering is fine. But hoping for a particular answer is not. The rule of law depends upon fair administration of justice, which is rooted in complete and unbiased investigation. We are best served when an investigation finds all relevant facts and illuminates the fullest possible view of the truth."
Let's talk about your "fair administration" of justice when you deliberately and with obvious malice violated the Hatch Act to destroy Hillary Clinton, FAILING to mention the investigations into Trump.
You have no credibility with me.
1
I got through this new pontificating by our former Boy Scout-in-Chief until the last paragraph, where he called President Trump a chronic liar.
Mr. Comey, as FBI Director, did not shine when it came to truthfully and reliably represent his office and the rule of law.
He allowed Hillary Clinton to violate our laws governing the security of sensitive and classified materials and the very rules governing this in the State Department that she led.
He played fast and loose with his descriptions of the investigation into Clinton's e-mails, most probably tipping the balance and costing her the 2016 election.
He opened an investigation into Donald Trump's subordinates even while the campaign was in progress, but did not inform the candidate that his subordinates might be compromised.
He acted as if he were the Attorney General and not just the Director of the FBI, subordinate to her.
He misrepresented the Steele dossier to help gain the permission of the FISA court to continue investigating contacts with the Trump campaign and later the Trump White House.
He did not follow the rules of White House protocol, sending his subordinates to corner Michael Flynn, in an effort to suborn perjury.
He is "rooting for a demonstration to the world that the United States justice system works"? Tell Hillary Clinton that. Tell Michael Flynn that. Tell President Trump that. And then, tell James Comey goodbye.
This is rich.
The man who gave us Donald Trump wanting to take down Donald Trump.
2
James Comey again attempts to rise above the fray, the fray h he helped to create "releasing" a stash of Ciinton e-mails just a few days before thr 2016 election,. But he said he did not examine them to seeif there were actions by the Clinton election team or by Clinton herself or Podesta or others that would compromise the eletion results. ( Lordy! in consternaton he said at the time, a "holier than thou" exclamation). In the fog of the subsequent election war, this question about Comey's behavior in releasing the Clinton e-mails on thg eve of the election has never been mentioned, let alone examined.
Mr. Comey, WHAT in the world are you talking about?
A transparent & full investigation is necessary to justice & the rule of law, but it’s hardly sufficient. There are penalties & procedures that are integral to those concepts that follow from a finding of criminality.
Lady Justice is not blind so she ignores or refuses to see & punish criminality when practiced at the highest levels or by popular people. She is blind so that the rule of law and justice is afforded everyone, regardless of their position, their power, inconvenience or fear.
“You don’t care”. Really? Did you do not care if Russians influenced our 2016 election and the president and his inner circle knowingly worked with them to do that? Wow. Did you feel that way when you took your oath of office? I preferred to believe you did care when you spoke about Mrs Clinton’s poor judgement in handling her official emails...why the change?
A coup? A Large, a majority, group of voters alienated from our country’s processes and government?
If we have a finding of criminality and improper behavior with a foreign power to influence & win an election, and yet the president is allowed to stay in office AND stand for RE-election AND continue that behavior while in office?
A coup and large scale disaffection is EXACTLY what will have happened and will happen
I have always contended Hillary Clinton brought herself down. Yet the perfect storm is a great way to describe the 2016 election and Mr. Comey played a part in that storm. Knowing she was going to run for president in 2016 she should not have used her personal email account - her mistake.
Our American Justice system is not perfect; Mr Comey holds it up in this opinion piece on a pedestal it does not deserve. It's like he is writing a love letter. OMG, talk to the poor, and minorities in this system that fails them over and over again.
Which is why, YES IMPEACHMENT.
Just look at all the criminals that have come out of this investigation; #45 is a criminal far beyond Mr Nixon's dreams. I have respect for Mr Mueller and all the work he has done. Whatever the outcome, I am an adult with critical thinking abilities; I will be able to live with it if he has not been able to tie the president to all his criminal friends.
I will, however, not be happy if there is enough evidence and #45 is not held accountable for his crimes. If there is justice in this country, Nancy Pelosi better show that no president is above the law. Even if the cowards in the senate refuse to finally stand up to the criminal in chief.
We don't need to wait for the Mueller Report to find out Trump is corrupt, unethical, immoral and otherwise totally unqualified to be President; none of those things matter to his supporters.
1
While taking Mr. Trump out of office by voting sounds good I have no reason to believe the 2020 elections will be fair and without foreign interference. The current administration has shown no interest in securing our precious right to vote, so I am fine with impeaching and removing this man if the special counsul's investigation reveals criminal activities. The man abuses power every day, and could easily be impeached for that and other high crimes and misdemeanors. Why should the Founders' intended method for removal of a despotic demogogue be off the table?
1
Mr Comey ,
If i may ask you where were your'' Diplomatic Words of Wisdom''when impeachments proceedings were started for one of the most globally respected presidents of this country for having a CONSENSUAL RELATIONSHIP SEXUAL OR OTHERWISE WITH ANOTHER CONSENTING ADULT?
Need I say more?
2
The world is a difficult and dangerous enough place without having an unhinged drama queen in the bully pulpit.
May the Mueller report be one step in the direction away from the fog of constant lying by the so-called president.
I agree with Mr. Comey -- let's have an election that expresses the will of the American people. I can only hope that, collectively, we do the right thing.
Then, yes, we can return to actually meeting our challenges, rather than flopping around in the mud.
1
When Comey says he “doesn’t care” if the President colluded with Russia or obstruct justice, I stopped reading. He is just as dense as ever. Hopefully Mueller has more sense than this guy — still projecting empty platitudes. He’s making Trumps decision to fire him more plausible.....
2
Comey the “system may reach conclusions they like or it may not, but the apolitical administration of justice is the beating heart of this country. “
Probably most of us join in this aspiration but, unfortunately, it is only a hope and not a certainty. The Trump Administration is successfully stacking the Courts with ideologues, and has made the Supreme Court a doubtful last resort.
2
But not everyone knows what it “must” say. Even though I believe Mr. Trump is morally unfit to be president of the United States, I’m not rooting for Mr. Mueller to demonstrate that he is a criminal. I’m also not rooting for Mr. Mueller to “clear” the president. I’m not rooting for anything at all, except that the special counsel be permitted to finish his work, charge whatever cases warrant charging and report on his work.
http://www.siyasat.pk/ptv-news-live.php
Wait?
Trump is already stumping with the Faith and Freedom Coalition
the 501 c a that is flagrantly allowed to endorse Trump and did so for his nomination.
Last month Trump gave a podcast for over 1.8 million viewers on abortion for this tax free org.
In June this group is going to have another stump called the Road to Majority conference at the Omni Hotel.
Trump has addressed them and thanked them for all the work they have done link below. In violation of the Johnson Amendment.
His EO did not absolve this Amendment.
These theocrats want our laws to be some kind of Christian Judeo do over of our Constitution.
And like you say the theocrats do not care about collusion with Russia either as they rather like Russia over our so called heathen NATO allies.
I get that these groups do not want to pay for abortion or life ending contraceptives with Federal tax dollars. No one on the other side of the aisle is reassuring them with they Hyde Amendment.
I am appalled when Trump quotes scripture to this group Isaiah Chapter 1, Verse 17: “Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow.” And disparages the drowning Syrian victims not to come here because they don't have the same values.
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/remarks-president-trump-faith-freedom-coalitions-road-majority-conference
Trump should be grieving everyone. Theocracy wise and Democracy wise.
Impeach him.
1
I know it's naive, but I dream that the Republicans won't be able to ignore or excuse or explain away the findings in the Mueller report and will be forced to nominate someone else in 2020.
2
Comey has hit exactly the right note when he says that Trump should be defeated, not for the policies he espouses, but because the "president of the United States cannot be a chronic liar who repeatedly attacks the rule of law." As one who agrees with many of the policies followed by this administration, it is still impossible to vote for an incumbent who has demonstrated time & again his unfitness to represent this great country and its people, regardless of the many issues that may divide us.
3
If "provable facts are there", why should Comey hope Congress doesn't actually impeach the president? It contradicts his entire praise for 'American justice'. The argument is that some 'significant part' of the country would see it as a coup. What's the point of the investigation then? And what about the other significant part of America? Would they not feel such a neglection as blatant corruption of justice?
1
Says the guy who completely disregarded FBI General Counsel James Baker's advice to charge Hillary Clinton. That's the top LEGAL advisor in the FBI independent of the Justice Department who clearly saw that Hillary should be charged and that he thought people at the top of the FBI would have thought the same. Comey completely overruled him without any consideration by saying "no reasonable prosecutor" by which he meant in the Obama Justice Department would prosecute this case. In other words, he was unfit to fall for such political pressure!
@natrix88
Here we go again....
Charged, exactly and specifically, for what?
The 'what' was thoroughly reviewed, and Hillary Clinton was found to have done nothing more than shown bad judgement, period.
If we're going to punish politicians for bad judgement, Ronald Reagan and Bush II should have both been locked up for life, and Trump would already be in jail.
Again: prosecute Clinton for what? Please proved a written answer.
2
I understand every democrat in the country wants to forcibly remove Trump from power, but what will be your justification where Mueller reports that he found no evidence of collusion?
I scanned through hundreds of comments to this op-ed, and I haven't found a single one which acknowledges the possibility. What if millions of hysterical people turn out to be wrong?
1
@Dave C
First, collusion is only illegal in the event of a criminal act. There is plenty of evidence, already on record, that the Trump administration and associates colluded with Russians. The list is long. If you haven't seen it, it is easy to find the documentation, most recently in the article from yesterday's time which lays it all out.
There is nothing whatsoever hysterical in the analysis. It is based on facts. Many of those most vehemently pointing out these facts are, in fact, Republicans.
Anyone who understands what actually happened during the 2016 election, transition and early Trump presidency understands what this is: A coordinated walking-back from the forthcoming Mueller report. They understand that James Comey, James Clapper, John Brennan, Susan Rice, Peter Strzok, Lisa Page, Bruce Ohr, Andrew McCabe, Fusion GPS, the law firm Perkins Coie, Hillary Clinton and yes, Barack Obama used the intelligence services of the U.S. spy on, frame and try to remove a candidate (and then elected President). They did so with no official intelligence to start a criminal investigation. They relied on a proven phony dossier that was literally created by the Clinton campaign through Perkins Coie and Fusion GPS. It was all based on a 2007 "script" of sorts put together by Glen Simpson at Fusion. They targeted ancillary Trump players and secured FISA warrants with unverified information. They leaked to the press. They even included information the Russians themselves were feeding them.
Comey understands that Mueller won't find collusion because it never happened. It was never close to happening. The entire Mueller investigation is about keeping the heat on Trump and protecting the conspirators. Why else do you think Comey would come out with this? Comey is in deep trouble. Just wait.
1
@Scott
Most of what you state is demonstrably false, and is not worth arguing here. Anything else?
1
Comey, whose actions, ironically, may have most contributed to Trump's election, opines that Congress should not impeach the president, yet wishes to see our justice system be shown to be demonstrably sound and apolitical. Congress is the judicial branch for the office of the U.S. presidency, and one that has been sorely deficient in its responsibility to hold the president to account for his actions. Trump has committed impeachable offense after impeachable offense right in the public eye, yet Republicans in Congress turn a blind eye. If justice is to be truly served, Trump should be impeached by the House and tried before the Senate, and Republican lawmakers should be called to be transparent and apolitical in recognizing the guidance in our Constitution. Trump has violated the Emoluments Clause repeatedly. He is guilty of nepotism. He has actively interfered in an ongoing FBI investigation and stated that he did so to make the "Trump Russia" thing go away. Justice for all means justice even for crooked Republicans like Trump regardless of what the minority of Americans think of him and his enablers.
Everyone is waiting for the Mueller report and everyone thinks it will settle things. I’m not sure.
Just like O.J. Simpson getting acquitted, I predict somehow Mueller’s report will either not go far enough (for progressives), or go too far (for conservatives), and we’ll have a new mess to contend with that doesn’t solve anything.
Regardless, I am convinced Trump has colluded because of two recent events, (1) Trump campaign association with Israeli spy company to influence social media during the election, and (2) Michael Cohen’s trip to Prague (he denies but his cellphone doesn’t), to set everything up.
And frankly I baffled why none of this has gotten any air play.
1
It's quite astonishing that Mr. Comey decided to write this bluster about his concern for America after the pending Mueller Report is released. Here's a man who breached long standing protocol of the FBI which basically mandated that nothing should be released that could be close to any upcoming election.
Mr. Comey, on the other hand, decided that this rule was not applicable to himself as he single handily destroyed Clinton's quest for POTUS, and instead prompted and emboldened many Americans to vote for the unqualified and unstable Mr. Trump. What could have Mr. Comey hoped for then? Or with the knowledge of the FBI could he have not seen that his actions gave to America something far worse than having Clinton as President?
Now Mr. Comey is worried about the Mueller Report hoping that Trump is not impeached before his term is up, not rooting for Mueller to show Trump as a "criminal," nor does he "care" whatsoever if Trump is found to have conspired, obstructed, or had/has corrupt intent. Either Mr. Comey has been blind to Trump's actions before and since his election, or he has lost it when it comes to the damage to America.
In over two years Mr. Comey has yet to acknowledge his grievous mistake of re-opening the Clinton email controversy despite the fact it ultimately showed nothing other than electing Mr. Trump. Even in Andrew McCabe's book "The Threat," Comey was warned about the ramifications of his action. He didn't care. Why should we care what he says now?
Now Comey talks about ensuring the justice system works. How was it working when he released info about Clinton while holding back similar info about Trump? How was it working when he basically threw the election into Trump's favor at the last minute when everyone thought Clinton would win? How can he pretend to be on the side of justice? Will this man's arrogance and desire for public attention never end?
"......the apolitical administration of justice is the beating heart of this country>
Well written Mr. Comey. This should be engraved on the senate leader's podium to remind McConnell that what he has done to the courts is a violation of his oath of office by stealing nominations and packing courts with political hacks.
I hope the Mueller report provides all the facts and let's Americans make up their own minds about the trump madness. If trump is exonerated, i will have a problem believing it though. He has admitted to too many crimes in public already, and his daily litany of lies and bullying may not be criminal, but is definitely disqualifying for the President of the United States.
I recently heard a phrase, "is it crime or slime," and I'd like a justice system that didn't distinguish the two.
With the first primaries a year away I suspect Mueller's report & the continuing investigations based on information & testimony from Cohen et.al there will be a huge struggle over prospective charges being filed (or not) against Trump & his associates/family. Everything will be dragged through the election season with Trump playing the beseiged victim & his supporters coming to defend him. No way I see out of this scenario.
1
Ah. I remember a time when we all believed in the rule of law and trusted that our FBI and every other law enforcement agency, right down to the local police, would execute their duties with such high-minded principles as those you have enumerated here. And, indeed, I believe that Mueller's investigation will have been done in exactly that way. But the very sight of your name still galls me, knowing that in all likelihood it was you who single-handedly put the Office of the President in Donald Trump's hands. It was almost like a fiction plot: the creator of the monster is then destroyed by the very monster he created.
3
Mr.Comey claim that "the apolitical administration of justice is the beating heart of this country". How can that be so when judges are appointed politically,as Democrats or Republicans ?
If justice is to be apolitical, surely politicians should not choose judges, but members of the American judicial system.
1
It was my understanding that the charges against Mr. Cohen included similar charges of breaking the lawbreaking by "Individual One." So Mr. Comey's concern about the Mueller Report's potential for showing criminal behavior by this president seem irrelevant. Plus there are already so many other offenses the man has committed, against both the Constitution and the American people, it seems like the only argument agains impeachment that the Republicans have left is, "Yeah, but he didn't shoot someone on Fifth Avenue in New York."
4
He hasn’t shot someone on 5th Avenue... yet.
@KB
No, no, please...start impeachment proceedings.
That will insure our President gets re-elected!
Excellent!
Why does Mr. Comey assume that the Cult of Trump will accept the removal of their cult leader by election any better than they would accept his removal through impeachment? In 2016, Trump refused to pledge to respect the result of the election if he lost. If he loses in 2020 he will squeal that the election was rigged, and his worshipers will believe him. If we let them intimidate the rational majority of the country into giving Trump a pass on impeachment, we might as well call off the 2020 election, tear up the Constitution and let Trump declare himself Emperor for Life.
6
@Bruce Miller
Hmmmnn...
Hillary said about Trump .. "anyone who refuses to accept the outcome of the election is a threat to Democracy"
then Hillary:...."I LOST??? This can't be - this election has to be rigged, collusion, fraud...How could I just... LOSE??"
Please.
Each day I read NYT thoroughly. Especially opinion section- as well as other publications. Living in a large, diverse city, I skew progressive. The opposite is not conservative; its regressive.
I find 90% of comments here to be thoughtful and articulate. Cannot say the same for Mr. Trump.
9
I appreciate the sentiments expressed by Mr. Comey, particularly around impeachment and the consequences that could follow Trump's removal following that process. As a nation, we need to remember that two bodies essential to our democracy largely abrogated their duties in holding Trump accountable: Congress and the media. Had Congress and the media done its duty early in Trump's term we quite possibly would not be in the position of losing the country because of impeachment.
4
We all hope the truth will come out and the chips will fall where they may. Honest people, however, who have been paying attention will have serious doubts. We already no that the only collusion occurred when John McCain and Hillary Clinton worked with a British MI 6 agent and Russian agents to create the debunked dossier and introduce to the media and FBI. We know that AG Loretta Lynch engaged in the obstruction of justice when she met with the husband of a person under investigation, Hillary Clinton, in violation of DOJ rules. We know that Comey then, without legal or constitutional authority, usurped Lynch's role and made his infamous press conference absolving Hillary of clear crimes she had committed and that the opinion was written months before she was interviewed or the investigation was completed. We know the FBI leaked the phony dossier to the media and then used the resulting media stories and the dossier to get repeated FISA warrants there by committing perjury each time. We know that high level discussions at the highest level in the DOJ and FBI were held to impede and harass Trump. We know that the Mueller investigation was conducted under a pretextual ruse of a national security case to avoid having to have an actual crime to investigate.
I could go on. All of the above are part of the public record. I suspect none of this will be included in Mueller's findings and justice will once again be denied by the Washington establishment.
3
We don’t know any of the things you say “we” know. And what YOU say about the Steele dossier is, shall we say, inaccurate in the extreme. The dossier was compiled by someone hired by the Republicans. It was only then taken up by Democrats and has never been “debunked.” Indeed, it seems more true every day.
Your comment illustrates that you are part of the problem Mr. Comey decries in the article. You “know” NONE of the things you mention in your comment, indeed CANNOT “know” most of them, but are using these assertions to sow doubt and to attempt to deflect blame towards others (including the hated “Hillary.”)
Is there ANY finding, by Mueller, the Congress, or the courts, of malfeasance by Trump or his circle that you would accept? Is there ANY outcome in 2020 that you would accept other than a Trump victory? Be honest.
What ever Mr. Comey may say now, many democrats feel he conducted himself in a partisan way before 2016 elections by reopening up investigation Hillary Clinton email issue ten days before the election while keeping quite on the Russian interference. As he himself said he did it to please Republican senators. This reopening the investigation is the major reason for the election of Trump. Now, Mr. Comey does not want Trump to be impeached even if Muller's report is very critical.
Is this also a partisan suggestion?
Superb and concise summary written by a true patriot and professional. Thank you Mr. Comey.
I only depart in the expressed concern over the division which might be caused by an impeachment proceeding. It is deeply disturbing to me that 40% of the population believes that an ethically and morally bankrupt individual such as Trump deserves to hold the office of the President. Laws are laws, and if President Trump has been shown to have broken a number of them (of little doubt at this point), then they should be exposed. The only way to re-establish a respect for equanimity of the application of law is to see Trump indicted by the State of New York on the day he leaves office. Jail time is only fitting for such a corrupt and unfit 'man'. The 40% who strongly support him apparently have no respect for either the Constitution or the office of the President.
3
@dmckj
It's not that I don't believe he should be impeached.....
I just think we should use the ballot box to remove him.
It's quick, it allows our country to move on.
1
From the bottom of my heart Mr. Comey, I want to thank you for penning this column. We citizens are inappropriately being encouraged to use our emotions as the fulcrum on how we should not only judge the upcoming Mueller report but also how we should respond. Your clarion call to use our shared and enshrined values, our laws and principles of justice only speaks to the wisdom of your advice. I thank you again, sir.
2
"Because if Mr. Trump were removed from office by Congress, a significant portion of this country would see this as a coup, and it would drive those people farther from the common center of American life, more deeply fracturing our country."
I never thought I’d ever hear a former FBI head advocate for the justice system to back down from enforcing the law because of threats of violence from armed and rabid minority groups. Isn’t that essentially condoning domestic terrorism?
8
@Joe Arena
I can't for the life of me understand how you draw your conclusion. The paragraph you copy doesn't mention any group making threats of violence. It simply states the writer's fears (justified by reality or not).
Also, he says "significant portion" not "minority groups".
Obviously, you understand what you wish to understand when you read these articles.
I agree that impeachment is politically risky for the Democrats, especially the year before a re-election campaign. But if Mueller's findings (and those of the SDNY and other investigators) point toward criminal culpability on Trump's part, it's worth the risk. The Congress makes a lot of noise about its Constitutional powers -- and rightfully so, as in the recent executive order about the wall -- so it can't shirk perhaps its most important responsibility. If the actions of Trump and his cronies don't rise to the level of "impeachable," what on earth ever will?
1
James Comey has demonstrated a severe lack of judgment, over stepping his authority and making critical political decisions while serving in a law enforcement capacity. His opinions on the President, the Special Counsel, investigative committees and other prosecutorial bodies, is inappropriate and misguided and only serve to support the view of his critics of FBI bias. He, and the American people, would be best served by his silence and quiet reflection on the errors he committed which impacted the outcome of the 2016 election far more than collusion by the Trump campaign with Russians.
3
Mr. Comey is expressing what I hope every American is giving voice to at this point in time, unity and a common cause, justice. What the Mueller Report is striving to do is heal this fractured country by telling us what the facts really are. Mr. Mueller is beyond reproach, and we have no reason to dismiss this report. If this President is guilty of the many infractions we see and hear of every day, especially his trifling with all things Russian and beyond, meaning Saudi Arabia and all that has occurred to dishonor this country, then he needs to be removed from office. It is simply a matter of right or wrong. It will be a long road if this is true. I am afraid the country could be further divided if the report is detrimental to Trump and not believed by his ardent followers.
I agree with the majority of what Comey says. We do need to demonstrate to the rest of the world that we are not slowly falling into a dictatorship, that our rule of law works. However, the half of our country that is continually made to feel as though our opinions do not matter, feel that a coup d'etat has already taken place. The election of 2016 was not valid. All of his changes and appointments should be invalidated.
1
Exactly what I expected Comey to say, and he did. Now let’s hear the report, and if need be, act on it post haste.
It is clear that the GOP part of Congress will not do anything to stop Trump's deconstruction of the government, any more than they will ever free themselves from their ownership by the NRA. If you vote for a Republican, you will be helping to destroy a Republic that formerly was admired around the world. And what then would you replace it with?
2
What they want to replace it with is obvious. The rule by those with obscene amounts of wealth. These dynasties of wealth akin to a modern aristocracy.
I’ll call it heiristocracy. Rule by those who inherited unearned wealth and believe because of their wealth that they are capable and rightfully in leadership.
Another words if you have the capital you deserve to rule no matter the merits. This is what we are facing in the world.
1
I wish that I could say that I agree with Mr. Comey's high-minded belief that Trump shouldn't be impeached if Director Mueller's report shows clear signs of Trump's conspiracy with the Russians. But I feel strongly that if that is the case - impeachment proceedings should immediately begin, supported by BOTH Democrats and Republicans, because if not, how can Americans have any faith that their government can be protected against traitors and criminals taking over the highest office in the land?
This quotation appears as my "signature" at the bottom of my email messages, and I take comfort in reading it each time I send an email:
"If ever the time should come, when vain and aspiring men shall possess the highest seats in government, our country will stand in need of its experienced patriots to prevent its ruin." Samuel Adams, revolutionary
7
I think the two are totally separate. Comey seems to be making an argument that just because impeachment is politically difficult then it shouldn't be done. That's crazy. Congress has the responsibility of impeachment regardless of the political consequences. That's their job. He is making the same a priori argument that Pelosi did and it smacks of putting politics above the administration of justice. I think Comey was guilty of that already once...let's not do it again.
1
and we need an election in 2020 without the head of the FBI inappropriately speaking out in public about an ongoing investigation as Comey did in an unprecedented move just days before the election regarding Hillary Clinton. It likely swayed the sections toward Trump and we are all suffering the consequences. What was he thinking? It shows what sad times we are in when someone like Comey is considered to be a voice of reason in this country.
2
I have to believe that Mr. Comey hasn't really had a good night sleep for the last couple of years. I am also sure that he is basically a very fine man. But...
The same subset of Americans who might think impeachment would be a coup will think his removal by a vote will be a coup. These people have no idea what democracy means or America stands for. We have got to stop worrying about how they feel. If they rise up in armed revolt that is what our National Guard, and the military if necessary, are for. Remember these are yahoos who believe the Second Amendment exists as a remedy to a government they might not like.
If it turns out to be truth that t rump committed crimes to obtain the office; if he has broken the law to enrich himself and his family or even done something unethical not quite a crime while in office; if he ran a criminal enterprise before his election; if he has done anything to sully our Nation and his office he should be punished to the fullest extent of the law.
We have avoided admitting to the crimes of several past republican presidents so as to "end this National nightmare" and allowed them, including Nixon, to retire in some kind of normalcy. That has led this so called president to think he is above the law.
We the People must show him, his backers, and the rest of the world that we are indeed a Nation of laws.
11
Although I agree with James Comey's opinion, can America survive 2 more years of Trump? The damage done thus far will be felt for decades, but in two more year Trump could change the Presidency forever.
5
He could start a nuclear war.
The clear and present danger in all of this is Trump. What is he going to do between now and 2020? The big problem is that nobody knows, not even him.
8
My personal prayer is that soon-very soon- there will be a closed door meeting at the White House. When the doors open, a press conference will be called and trump will announce that "due to personal and/or family reasons" he will not be running again.
And while there may be no lack of Republicans ready to leap into that void, at least it won't be HIM!
5
Thank you Mr. Comey. Great article. This should be inserted as a chapter in school books everywhere in America for our future generation to read.
3
A nation of laws, you say. Well then, if Trump is found to have broken the law, tell me again why we should wait until he is (hopefully) removed by ballot?
6
And what if he wins re-election, a know criminal. And now you have two ticked of sides that see a coup.
"I am rooting for a demonstration to the world that the United States justice system works." - as long as it agrees with my own opinion.
2
@W. Ogilvie
? His own opinion is that Trump should be our president and that he, Mr Comey, has a role in manipulating the electorate to do what he wants.
2
This elongated "investigation" will probably create a bad precedent for treatment of future Presidents. Trump has been under constant pressure from his opponents (the Democrats and strict conservatives), the "Special Counsel" and their enabling Press since his inauguration. Over sight is one thing but this has been excessive. He is probably not a nice guy to work for but he was hired (elected) to run the country, not to be a "nice guy, and his decisions, so far, seem right. Comey's credibility ever since his change of "grossly negligent" (criminal) to "exceedingly carless"(not criminal) at the behest of political orders or to avoid, as to him, the unpleasant task of charging Hillary. I get it. He doesn't like Trump. If Trump is impeachable, Congress should act. If he is merely unlikable but doing a good job the voters can decide.
4
I'm confident you can recall that elongated "investigations" began with Whitewater, which found no wrongdoing, but after much meandering resulted in the Republican-led House impeaching President Clinton because he perjured himself by lying to Congress about having an affair.
I'm pretty sure it hasn't slipped your mind about the lengthy investigations into Benghazi, which was similar to an event that occurred under Trump. Republicans dragged that out for years, first going after Obama; then, when that didn't work, going after Hillary Clinton. Did the Republican led investigation find any wrongdoing? No.
These were purely Republican hit jobs against Democratic administrations. The current Russia investigation was begun by our intelligence agencies not partisan Democrats.
Perhaps you don't like it because it doesn't fit your political bias, but the rule of law is more important than tribalism.
Seems like all the commenters and Mr. Comey assume the 2020 election is a forgone conclusion. I wish it were so but at this point, I remain very concerned.
8
Ironic that the man so desirous of Justice did so little to ensure it on his watch.
Comey insisted the Clinton case be handled out of the Washington office rather than the local office which is standard policy
Comey wrote the letter to exonerate Clinton long before interviewing her or her staff.
Comey allowed Clinton's aides, who were themselves witness to the alleged criminal activity, to sit in on her intervites
Comey offered immunity to her key aides to testify but received nothing in exchange
Comey disobeyed Justice department rules by re-opened the case two weeks before the election and publicly commenting on it, doing disservice to Clinton
Comey told the President he was not under investigation, when he actually was under investigation.
Comey has no understanding of Justice. Justice has a fairly strict set of rules its employees are expected to follow to ensure justice is served. He created his own rules to serve his own needs.
6
@Elliot Bravo
I don’t think there are a large number—as in 10-30% of the electorate—who don’t want the truth from this report. The problem is depending on your sphere of influence, and how you receive your news of the day, that provides the answers to what is the truth?
Mr. Comey, and previously Nancy Pelosi, have said they want Trump to complete his term, otherwise a large faction will think there has been a coup. While I understand their statement; it sounds to me like a parent protecting a child from having his feelings hurt. This is not a constructive argument for our country. It reminds me of the argument the Obama administration wouldn’t tie up the courts prosecuting Wall Street bankers and hedge fund managers after the financial crisis.
Our justice system has to be allowed to do its job. Otherwise, the growing discontent over a two-tier court and prison system will only increase. For those who don’t like the outcome, or think it “fixed,” might then look to the sources of their information, and reevaluate as they move forward in their daily lives. Anyone has to be shown the light before they will change behavior from the past.
5
@Scott The only reason you would worry that people will believe it was a coup, is if you know yourself that it was a coup.
Given the DOJ's policy of not indicting a sitting president and the policy of not naming unindicted individuals, Trump's name will not be listed in the final report, but likely listed as an unindicted conspirator . Secretary Barr has already indicated he would do so.Trump will spin it as proof of his innocence. History will not be as forgiving to 45.
3
It's entirely possible that Nancy Pelosi's restraint concerning impeachment reflects her hope that the Mueller report, as well as the indictments and referrals that have emerged from it, will be convincing enough to Senate Republicans for them to cooperate in restraining the President and his entire administration, or eventually participate in a justified and successful impeachment process. It gives room for the rule of law to do its job first, not only for Congress but for the country. That least partisan set of outcomes is most to be desired given the political madness that now prevails. It would usher in one or more admirable outcomes that would remove this President sooner than 2020, leave this country more healed than the next election would, and help repair the Republican party. It would also remove from concern the possibility that Mr. Trump would resist leaving office even if he loses the next election. That may seem an impossible event to imagine, but considering that he holds the office at all was and still is just as challenging to imagination. We now know with undeniable certainty that he is capable of something that unprecedented and dire.
2
Mr. Comey believes that Trump supporters would view his impeachment as "a coup"? Then what does he think about Trump's so-called election "victory"? This was a right-wing coup, orchestrated by efforts to restrain potential Democrat voters through sham charges by state election officials, by orchestrated efforts to influence on-the-fence voters through false and/or misleading social media planted stories, and through orchestrated cooperation (read collusion) between Trump campaign officials and operatives from the Russian nation who desired the defeat of Hillary Clinton in the presidential race. Once again, itr appears, words fail Mr. Comey.
5
Agreed. If trump wins a second term you have two sides saying coup.
I think the major thought is the right wing is more dangerous. The liberals are more likely to peace March where the Trump supporters are more likely to go on a massacre.
Mr. Comey is showing why, in spite of his mistakes, that he has the wisdom to lead.
Our next president needs to do more than jump over the relatively low bar of not being morally reprehensible. Our next president must lead with wisdom.
It may be that despite evidence of criminality in the Mueller Report (and we have already evidence of criminal campaign contribution violations by Individual No. 1) any impeachment process will take longer than there is time before the next election. I can only hope that Trump will be defeated in the next election and then he can be indicted and convicted for any crimes he has committed.
3
So we give the guy a pass because we don't want to anger his base? If were a nation of laws and impartial justice, perhaps we should start by enforcing those laws.
2
Thank you Mr. Comey. I hope our country will elect a new President who respects the rule of law. I look forward to a new day when reasonable people can discuss issues from different perspectives in an informed civilized way. The 2020 election cannot come too soon.
3
Mr. Comey now presents himself as a paragon of neutral thinking. Yet, he seems oblivious to the impact he might have had by his lengthy condemnation of Hillary Clinton's "careless handling" of emails during her campaign for the Presidency.
2
If the facts show treason, and/or crimes, then the perpetrators must be prosecuted, because the law requires it. If the facts show treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors, then the perpetrators must be impeached, because the law requires it. The duty created by the law cannot be violated for any reason whatsoever! There can be no appeasement of a group that supports the perpetrators, or we will not be a country of laws. No matter how difficult exercising that duty may be!
3
Mr. Comey reopened the FBI investigation into Clinton's emails prior to the 2016 election because he was afraid of how it might "look" if didn't. The pursuit of justice cannot be driven by by who may or may not be angered by the results. Trump's supporters will be outraged if he is impeached, but congress must have the courage to face that consequence in their pursuit of the truth. Ignoring the screaming mob is another reason why the statue of Justice wears a blindfold.
3
@Brian Steblen
Your presumption is bogus. If Trump truly conspired with Russia to influence the election, most Republicans would have no issue, and would actively support impeachment.
One's opinion on whether or not a president should be impeached should not be clouded by a fear that doing so would make a group of Americans feel "driven from the center of American life." The law and the Constitution have to move forward as they must, and if they take the country down the path of impeachment, and a minority of Americans end up ostracizing themselves as a result, that is their choice.
3
What about Wall Street executives and the Global Financial Crash of 2008? Clear evidence of an ongoing broken Justice system.
@James Bond Don't dream about it, that is the untouchable class of the USA.
Just the facts would be perfectly fine with me. And they must be facts that can't be flipped on their head to be made into "alternative facts."
2
The entire crux of the Democrat argument was that their was collusion by the Trump administration with Russia. This mantra was triggered by Trump's July 2016 speech that maybe Russia could find Hillary's emails. Of course, Russia already hacked Podesta's emails in March of 2016, so apparently the belief is that Russia went back in time and hit the wrong server.
Anyway, Democrats clamored for the Special Counsel investigation, insisted they'd prove collusion (which while bad politically, is not a crime barring a corrupt act), and promised they'd prove it. So now when Mueller is apparently about to say "all done and nada," the mantra is "we don't care, waaaa, we know it happened?"
When looking at the voracity of Mueller's prosecution of the crimes committed by those in Trump's orbit long before the election, and the process crimes, nobody can say "Mueller just didn't push hard enough." Given the lies of the DNC fabricated Steele Report, and the FISA court violations, there's far more there there than will come out of Mueller's report on Trump. Take the loss.
2
Democrats did not clamor for a Special Counsel investigation. They were in the minority in both houses of Congress. They had no power to do so.
The Special Counsel was appointed by a Republican deputy AG.
I very much want justice to prevail in this case, whatever the outcome. I am afraid that by tacitly admitting that Republicans dedicated to Trump would view our most Constitutional remedy--impeachment--to be a coup, that shows just how far the Republican Party has drifted from Constitutional norms, guidance and understanding.
When one of our two major political parties is actively fighting to obscure our very Constitution, and that party has a majority in any portion of government, that bodes ill for the continuation of our Republic.
6
I heartily agree with Mr. Comey until he said that he hopes that Trump is not removed from office even if the report clearly shows that he is unfit. He bases his argument on the premise that we should demonstrate a working justice system and then he advocates for a clear demonstration of a Constitution that does not work. We have impeached 2 Presidents. Neither did anything even close to the things that we already know that the current President has done. Impeachment is a joke and should be removed from the Constitution if it is not used to remove this manifestly unfit man from office. Politics should not be more important than justice and the Constitution.
7
While I share the view expressed in this column that the best, meaning the most potentially cleansing, method of removal of this regime is through the ballot, I also admit to profound concern for our nation if the Mueller report clearly points to collusion on the part of the Trump campaign and obstruction of justice on his part after the investigation was undertaken, either of which would certainly represent "high crimes and misdemeanors" under the Constitution, and yet impeachment is not initiated specifically because it is considered dangerous because a certain segment of the population may resort to violence. If that proves true, then we are no longer a nation functioning under and respectful of the Constitution, and therefore not respectful of truth and rule of law. And if we reach that point, what have we? And what are we?
505
@Michael - Impeachment as a constitutional redress was trivialised by the Clinton impeachment. He was impeached for lying about an affair. (One is supposed to lie about affairs. It't in the nature of the beast.) It was purely political, a continuation of the jeremiad the right wing had - has - been waging against the Clintons for years (and found nothing). So it is no longer usable because once politicised, always politicised. Just another way the right wing has sullied the foundation of your benighted nation.
79
@Stevenz
It is also true that stratigically there is not much point to impeachment if he Senate, still controlled by Republicans who love or fear Trump, will defeat it anyway. Unless the crimes revealed are so clear and undisputed that even a Republican could not stomach them, I would agree with Ms. Pelosi that the 2020 election is a better battlefield to defeat once and for all the new Trumpublican Party.
35
@Stevenz Good point but maybe a more clear case for impeachment could return the option no matter how the Republicans try to politicize it. The Trump case may be so clear (once we have the facts) it may provide this power. If the reports are not clear about the crimes then I would agree we settle this at the ballot box.
14
It is refreshing to find the the Justice Department Investigates using the Scientific Method. Just gather the data and report the results with no preconceived notions. It reminds me of the old Dragnet TV Program “Just the facts”.
Unfortunately in the Political World, Facts and Beliefs are debated endlessly. I hope there will be no bloodshed this time.
Mr. Comey is a better man than I.
I'm not "rooting" for trump's criminality to be revealed by Mr. Mueller:
I long for it like a man dying of thirst in the desert; I pray for it like a wrongfully convicted prisoner behind bars; I dream of it at night.
Everything I love about this country; every moral, legal, ethical and civic value that defines us as Americans, is under attack by trump and men formerly know as 'Republicans'.
We may have to wait for the likes of SDNY to complete the monumental task of revealing the vast criminality of trump and Company.
And the only reason Impeachment won't work now is because our Founding Fathers saw the possibility of a trump, but never dreamed of a Mitch McConnell, and fellow Republican "senators", for whom country comes last.
777
@Watchdog2
You’re the better man for wanting this most corrupt “leader” of the “free” world ousted. Your dream is my dream, too though Ikd like to see him tarred and feathered.
63
Bravo! My sentiments as well.
10
@Watchdog2,
Comey is not in any way, shape or form a better man than you.
Millions of us hope beyond hope that our Constitution will be upheld, and the rule of law re-established in the U.S., and that the corruption by Trump, McConnell, Miller, Bannon, and the rest will be over sooner rather than later.
Again, Comey is NOT a better man than you.
15
Comey already got what he needed out of the Mueller investigation -- 2 years of misdirection that let the trail on his own felonies go cold.
That was the entire point of the Mueller investigation -- create an off-ramp for the perpetrators of the "insurance policy".
3
Director Comey, every American citizen who thinks of himself/herself as a patriot is hoping for the same thing: an unequivocal and irrefutable exclamation point that we are governed by laws and institutions that are in place to guarantee our security and freedoms.
We have been caught up in a perhaps-fatal tug of war in which extremism—from either side but particularly from the Right—threatens to unravel our unique experience as a nation. We have reached a point under Donald Trump that the blurring of the lines between duty and servile obeisance to dogma have taken hold of the discussion in our public square.
We all owe our allegiance to the Constitution—not to an individual or a political party. We are severely divided along lines not seen in 150 years. It is my hope that the coming Robert Mueller report will prove to be a document that will hold up, for all time, the essential nature of our inherent goodness as a nation—in spite of its historical flaws—so that we can right this badly-listing ship that now appears headed for the rocks of dissolution.
242
@Red Sox, ‘04, ‘07, ‘13, ‘18 interesting. I thought Mueller's role was to collect evidence of Teump colluding with Russia to steal an election. His role is not to right all societal wrongs or fill the opposition research files of the Democrat party in order to "steal" the next election with anything less than evidence of actual crimes.
Once again, James Comey seems more concerned with the radical right's reaction to events rather than the administration of justice. His assertion that the results of an election would be harder for them to distort than impeachment is contrary to all the evidence we have witnessed over the past two years. The radical right will distort reality to suit their views no matter what is presented and how. So, no matter what criminality is revealed, we shouldn't remove Trump from office because the radical right will be sad. Oh boy. How inspiring.
2
"...if Mr. Trump were removed from office by Congress, a significant portion of this country would see this as a coup, and it would drive those people farther from the common center of American life, more deeply fracturing our country."
Protecting the feelings of a significant portion of this country should not preclude impeachment, if the provable facts are there.
Law is law. Law is not feelings. Law should be enforced, if law means anything at all, and let the consequences be what they will be.
This in itself gets to the roots of our problem: the majority of the nation held hostage by a mostly irrational minority.
If they get mad, let them be mad. I for one am tired of seeing the rest of a mostly rational nation--Democrats, Republicans, and everyone else included--acquiesce to the neediness of this class of irrational Rightists; the president's base.
93
"Because if Mr. Trump were removed from office by Congress, a significant portion of this country would see this as a coup, and it would drive those people farther from the common center of American life, more deeply fracturing our country."
Once again, Mr. Comey's fear of an unknowable outcome prevents him from considering right action...the removal of an un-fit man from office. You'd think he'd have learned after having helped Trump win the election.
7
What I want from you, Mr. Comey is a rerun of the 2016 election. I want the right wing justices he appointed off the Supreme and District Clourts. I want the obscene tax cut he signed repealed. I want Putin back in his box, and the Atlantic Alliance restored. I want North Korea restrained. Trade wars ended. White Supremacy put down. Strongmen around the world on the run... I could go on. Why don’t you just slink back into a private life and leave us all alone, while we try to figure out what to do about the catastrophe you unleashed.
9
Thank you, James Comey.
James Comey: Right On.
Dear sir
Thanks but no thanks for your opinion.
First you help him get elected but now you are supporting him not to be impeached.
3
We are not a nation of laws that apply to all. That’s how they’re written but a rich white woman can get away with some really awful crimes especially if she’s beautiful.
On the other hand If Obama had said and done half the things Trump did he would not be a free man.
3
The only thing I want to hear is that RICO, Treason, lying to cover up sexual behavior and obstruction of Justice will equal an indictment against DJT. Whether or not DJT is re-elected by the ignorant or incredibly wealthy, ought to have no effect on DJT's indictment and time spent behind bars. All SCOTUS, decrees, etc., that he has enacted ought to rescinded because each are fruit from a poisoned tree.
Mr. Comey deserved to be fired by someone because he should have followed the rules. The rules are there not as suggestions, but rather to prevent idiotic outcomes. Mr. Obama didn't fire him, I believe because for him to have done so, would have further compromised the outcome of the 2016 election.
I thoroughly understand that my wish list will never come to pass because there exists an incredible difference between the justice Joe Blow receives for spitting on the sidewalk and the justice the likes, minions, family, enablers of DJT are afforded. For example, Manafort deserved 20+ years behind bars and Cohen, probably a minimum of 10 years. If Comey hopes the Mueller Report proves to the world that there is such a thing as American justice, then treat this group of criminals like you would treat Joe Blow. . .50 years for spitting on the sidewalk. Now that would be true MAGA!
1
I gave up hope that the justice system works after O.J. was acquitted and Nixon pardoned. The jig is up.
3
Mr. Comey, open your eyes. Haven't you done enough damage already?
Thanks again for a lot of nothing, Comey.
2
James Comey is a polarizing figure as is Donald Trump. After Comey's self-aggrandizing and obnoxious behavior in the run-up to the 2016 election, I find it difficult to take his advice or opinion seriously. He is one of the players who helped put Trump in the White House. For me, that's unforgivable. With that said, I hope we are allowed to see and read the Mueller Report. I have no doubt that Trump and his team will do everything in their power-legal or illegal--to hide the report if it should show that Trump committed crimes before, during, and after the 2016 election. But worse than that will be a report that simply doesn't come to any real conclusions about Trump's behavior and allows him and the GOP to proclaim his innocence and give him a second term as President. It's a crap shoot indeed--we've known that since Day One. Comey knows it too.
2
James Comey, Your moral grandstanding has holes the size of the moon. One standard for your Republicans, another for Democrats. You are no better than Trump and I hope you are enjoying retirement, because you lost credibility a long time ago.
1
Mr.Comey has zero self awareness.
2
A Republican suck up to the end. He breaks department of justice tradition of not commenting on case's under investigation and not prosecuted. He scolded Hillary, made her look like a criminal, then says nothing about Trump and he is mildly nauseous. He didn't quit he was fired. He got want he wanted his job. He was just surprised he was fired. Trump did make a mistake with Comey, he should have kept him on and Comey would have cleared him to save his job. Trumps only mistake was directly approaching Comey to lay off. Comedy would have done so on his own.
1
Dear Mr. Comey,
Enough already.
This disaster is on YOU.
You are not forgiven.
6
Right...no one is above the law...so I’m sure we can expect future indictments for Comey, Clinton, Strozk (sp), Page, etc.
1
1. Yep.
2. Please register to vote. Please.
3. Ask not. AKA get over yourself.
4. Let’s beat this so-and-so from office.
1
Two persons are responsible for making Trump president:
1. Putin
2. Comey
4
Leaving aside the suitability of James Comey to be talking about this in print after his own professional malfeasance, it's clear just from the public record that the Current Occupant of the White House has attempted to obstruct justice regarding the Russia investigation on a number of occasions, most notably when he dictated a false answer to questions regarding the June 16, 2016, Trump Tower meeting between Don, Jr., and a Russian lawyer that Junior thought had dirt on Hillary Clinton.
1
Mr. Comey, if the justice system worked, you and Hillary Clinton would be in Leavenworth. Some of us KNOW it is a two tiered system – and that folks like you, unelected bureaucrats have long forsaken pari iustitia. You, like Robert Mueller, have been anything but fair. At least half of the country realizes this – those of us not blinded by politics. It was on YOUR WATCH that the fake dossier was pushed for political reasons, making you culpable.
Does America have a working justice system? Did YOU believe in it and rise above personal interest and tribalism? Some of us know the answers to such questions. You and your cronies worked closely with the DOJ to ensure that the public interest wasn’t served, but, rather, to create your own coup attempt.
Make no mistake, you are one of the traitors further fracturing our country. I’ll believe in American justice when you are behind bars for your part.
1
It is a really worrying feeling at reading this nothing that this is written by a guy who was the Director of the FBI .
Mr. Comey, you are the reason that the con man was elected. Please go away and never speak in public again. You have caused great harm to our nation.
3
Why in the world do we continue to allow a known liar to have a platform to spew his nonsense? True journalism is dead.
1
Dear NYT:
I am also "rooting" for Mueller to release this report, thereby demonstrating not only that the president is not above the law, but that no actual "obstruction" occurred -- despite Trump's many "attacks."
Trump is not the first president to fight back against a special counsel, and this is his 1st Am. right. He has himself been "attacked" every day as a Russian traitor.
Unlike Comey, I am rooting for the Mueller report to provide an evidentiary basis for the Russia conspiracy case against Trump, or to admit it does not exist.
Day after day, we have been hearing liberal Ds and their media allies loudly allege "collusion" and accuse Trump of being a Russian asset.
This is a cancer growing on our democracy.
It involves collusion between D partisans and Obama intel, FBI and Justice officials, who engaged in leaks of classified information, unmasking, misleading the FISA court, planting a CIA operative to snare the hapless Papadopoulis in a collusion trap, and keeping secret the fact the Clinton campaign had financed a "dossier" written by a foreign spy, tapping anonymous Russian spies as sources.
Was all this a result of Russian disinformation, or worse?
Now we learn that the Obama State Dept. colluded with Ukranian allies to release the Manafort file -- causing Manafort's immediate termination -- in order to damage the Trump campaign.
This is real "collusion" with a foreign power to effect the outcome of the election. Will Mueller even address it?
2
Lame, Comey, Lame. Is that all you had to say. You put him in the Presidency knowing he was the liar. You affected the vote and finished off Hillary Clinton after Bill Clinton wounded her. Lame. Nothing new here but you hope he is not impeached. Why are we listening to anything you have to say?
2
"I am rooting for a demonstration to the world that the United States justice system works."
You might have demonstrated that if you, political hacks at the FBI, and a compromised Attorney General had not decided in advance that Hillary Clinton had committed no crimes with her private email server and her attendant failure to protect classified information. But the benighted Obama administration figured that Hillary was a lock, so why not sweep all that dirt under the rug?
1
You were in cahoots with Loretta Lynch to shield Hillary Clinton from criminal prosecution. Enough said.
1
Well said
Sorry, sir. You are much to blame for the disgusting state of affairs. Trump the con man never wanted to be president, and you gave him the glass slippers. Our downfall started with your awful decision to investigate Hillary Clinton at the eleventh hour
1
With all this seemingly endless anticipation, it's beginning to look more and more dangerously to me like the media taking on the role of the boy who cried wolf. The danger is that once the report is made public, it might be anticlimactic and not taken as seriously as it should be--whatever!
Yes, Mr. Comey inserted himself through his office into the 2016 election, to disastrous effect. He shouldn't have done that. But he does have both the right and the duty to state his position now on the investigation going forward.
I agree with him, but not completely. The Constitution is the essence of our democratic republic. The rule of law must be reasserted. The American justice system must be demostrated to work, and to work fairly.
But while I may also hope that Trump is not impeached and removed from office before his single term is complete, it's not because I fear his supporters will overreact or because I believe he shouldn't be there. It's because I believe his occupation of the White House is highlighting all the many ways the United States government has departed from its constitutionally mandated original purpose. I want a more perfect union to emerge from this, knowing that perfection is never achievable. I want the Constitution to live and breathe.
2
Without the laughably manufactured Clinton "email controversy," Mr. Comey would barely be known. Even with the presence of tens of thousands of messages, no smoking gun has emerged, even during the 26 months of Trump/Republican control of our government. As I always suspected, and based on my personal experience with a similar number of business and personal emails over a much longer period of time, no intelligent, knowledgeable, sane person would enter vital information into an open system of communication. Likewise, I consider it a safe bet that no one would ever post their completed personal income tax return for publication in this newspaper, despite their right to do so. Therefore, I see no real value in anything Mr. Comey has to say... the real value being his right to state those opinions.
1
Maybe the US can't think itself out of a wet paper bag because it entertains so many ridiculous claims relating to a hypothetical immortal all-knowing being that purportedly toys with human lives.
2
If the 2020 election is the best way to defeat trump, what if he wins? I do not agree with all the pundits who say impeaching trump is tantamount to a coup. We now know trump is criminal. Sixty percent of the American people who voted in 2016, did not want trump as potus. At best, he is an accidental potus by route of the electoral college.
Regarding Mr. Comey, had he delivered the fact, 2 weeks before the 2016 election, that trump was under investigation, I might agree with his op ed. But it has always appeared that he acted as the lone wolf, regarding Clinton’s email server.
It is the people’s right to have a potus that is not compromised by money, power and engrandisement of himself. Impeachment will no more divide us then having trump win in 2020. Do what the majority want, end this horrible trump era that is dividing us more then an impeachment will.
3
Regardless of the outcome Trump's reaction(s) to it are sure to be entertaining. My sense is there's still enough teeth gnashin' outrage to go around. The thing is.. there's no winning conclusion. If the report says no collusion with the Russkies then Mueller gets the teenager's egg. If it says he did collude... then what? Likely whatever the evidence is won't be legally actionable... because wouldn't we have seen that already?
My bet it'll be something that is spun to look bad but will have no legal repercussions. As for any business dealings, all Trump has to do is say he didn't expect to win, and cite every poll as evidence.
The idea that we should not impeach Trump because the right wing will be incensed is Democratic and progressives' default line of reasoning. That Mr. Comey, a Republican, defends that logic is no surprise. But I'd rather our legislators call the right-wing's bluff. If the facts lead to impeachment, so be it. Full steam ahead. The right would have locked up Hillary Clinton for using a private email server, and they wanted to lynch Barack Obama for wearing a tan suit. Both of those people are more ethical, more fair, more generous, more kind than Mr. Trump and his administration of criminals. The idea that the right cannot be upset is wrong-headed. They will continue to support their GOP demagogues and move this country toward tyranny as long as they are permitted to do so. It's time we stop being afraid of their reaction to the rule of law.
2
Impeached or not, defeated in reelection or not, Trump will remain a divisive power. And there will be at least 100 more little Trump congressmen ruling their little fiefdoms in red districts across the hinterlands, fighting the rule of law and following the dictates of right wing propagandists.
The dam broke with the election of this authoritarian. Two more years of Trump at the rallies will only sow a wider breach. Appeals to reason will not divide the Red sea. Trump will bring it down to his last bunker stand.
2
@vole: Trump has reached near-record level of unpopularity at this stage of his presidency. Let the people have their way in an election.
1
If Russia's intent was to cast doubt in our election process, bravo. America has proven that while it may take billions of dollars to elect a president, doubt sewn across America is cheap.
3
I agree with Mr. Comey that impeachment is the wrong way to go. Honestly, I can think of little that would be more satisfying than a humiliating election defeat of Trump. That so many of us STILL support this clown really troubles me. Only an election (without interference!) can be seen as definitive. No amount of lying or spin can erase that. As for Comey’s impartial justice system, I have grave doubts as the judgeships are now seeded with ideologues and Trump loyalists. The one thing I think Trump really could be caught on, the emoluments clause, nobody with any authority seems to care much about. It’s up to us to get rid of these people and election time is how it’s done. We get what we deserve.
2
What Comey wants is for the Mueller report to paint him as the hero he is -- in his own mind.
The report will show no collusion. And that Trump isn't a puppet of Putin. And by definition there was no obstruction of justice as Mueller's investigation hasn't been stopped.
The bigger question for Mr. Comey is when did the FBI actually start investigating Trump and on what grounds? This whole late July start date after Australia reported that G. Papadopoulos knew something claim as he time and the reason is bogus. It makes no sense. So we want to know when Comey et al at the FBI got the Steele dossier. What attempts they made to corroborate it, etc., and who pushed them to open an investigation. We also need to know from Comey why he let HRC off the hook -- and who directed him to do so.
Congress has an obligation to impeach and remove from office Donald J. Trump if he meets the criteria. Congress cannot shirk its responsibility simply because it isn't politically expedient, or as Mr. Comey suggest supporters of Trump will interpret it as a coup. Most of them are rather blithely uninformed and not completely rational and nothing short of a red hat will sway them. What I believe is the only rational and ethical outcome of the report is that it is turned over in its entirety to the House and let them do their job. Meanwhile the 25th amendment is needed to be put to use as besides the legal issues of this administration America has someone in the oval office who continually displays mental instability.
1
In reading this article, with its noble call to restore the Rule of Law in the United States by according Trump the due process vouchsafed to us all, I could not help thinking about all the people who every day receive due process of a lesser sort. Sure, the rich and the powerful enjoy the full panoply of protections our legal system is supposed to provide, but claiming that the Rule of Law prevails in our land if we accord due process to the most notorious lying, cheating, and corrupting among us is really crazy. They are entitled to proper treatment under the law, but so are we all, and that's far from happening even if Trump gets his.
3
If Mr Comey is truly hoping for core American values to be protected, I hope that he will fully cooperate with an investigation into his own actions.
Not since the corruption of the L Edgar Hoover era has the FBI had a leader who ran so roughshod over core American values...
2
What throws me for a loop in Comey’s opinion is that he says he doesn’t care whether Trump conspired with Russia in undermining the election of 2016 or obstructing justice with corrup intent. How can he doesn’t care and still say that he wants justice to be served? How can justice be served if a Democrats can’t impeach Trump as Republicans have Clinton to question him under oath about their investigation? Why should they have to sit on their hands?
I understand that Mr. Comey wants to appear fair minded and judicious; however, this is not the time nor place for such high minded ideals when the president is as corrupt as Trump is and continues to play with our adversaries to destroy this country.
Waiting until November 2020 gives this most emboldened and mad president just more time to rile up his base for more devious ends. He needs to be held accountable as any ordinary citizen is for his actions.
1
Mr. Comey seems to have a need to clear himself of guilt in the Trump invasion of our Nation. Comey is a major reason why this awful infection was introduced into our democratic republic.
To now claim to be apolitical is just disingenuous - Comey chose to reveal the Hillary stuff right before the election and gave Trump a major hand up in the race for POTUS.
Comey is not a hero - he is another guy who needed the spotlight and used his position as a sword rather than as a shield.
1
Comey does not get to decide for the nation. The Congress has a mandate to remove an incompetent President from office.
2
According to Lisa Page’s sworn testimony, the FBI thought they had made a case for criminal gross negligence in the handling of Clinton’s emails. The Justice department told them to stand down. Comey’s famous speech excoriating her looks different in that light. He also appears proud to have leaked notes of a meeting with Trump. He is an odd duck.
1
Seriously? I should read what this attention seeking man thinks? The guy who did everything he could to see that Hillary lost the election therefore helping trump get elected? That guy? It should matter to Americans what he thinks?
2
The impeachment argument seems to be based on “morality” issues perceived by enough Tump opposers to gather a movement of its own. The moral factors that upset impeachers are not illegal and don’t support any legal action. The frustration is apparent. Comey finally realizes that the facts won’t support impeachment, so he takes the “moral high ground” in realizing the futility of the impeachment movement. What a sad study in attempted character.
What people might want to also consider is what if Trump does lose the election in 2020, will he leave? Past behavior and claims of Fake News and all that other nonsense suggest that he won't. What do we do then?
2
I agree, and along with many people here I don't want Trump impeached, I want him voted out of office. This democracy is heavily flawed. The electoral college system of voting for president - remember, the public doesn't elect the president in this country. Each state determines who will be members of the Electoral College, and that doesn't have to be through the process of voting. The Electoral College needs serious examination and should be eliminated. Since the 1980's, the Republicans have twisted the goals of the House of Representatives into a self-seving institution. Currently, the Democrats are infighting and trying to figure out how they can do the same while appearing riotous and pure - good luck with that one. The Senate, under McConnell, has warped and ignored the rule of law by simply doing nothing as in the case of the Supreme Court nomination under Obama. The Trump administration is a bottom feeder feast of stupidity and disregard for the Constitution. Amid all of that, we need to use the process of democracy - as flawed as it currently is - to right the ship. We need the American public - the public that barely bothers to vote - to rise up and use their vote to remove these anti-democracy con artists from our government. Vote Trump out. Change the Senate. Get Democrats to focus on Americas issues and not their own pie-in-the-sky agenda. Let's get back to hard work and not easy answers.
3
"a significant portion of this country would see this as a coup, and it would drive those people farther from the common center of American life,..." Comey
Those people are not NOW part of the common center of American life. The type of Trump supporter who would be driven from the common center of American life is a delusional radical. There is absolutely nothing can be done to appease that Trump supporter.
4
It has already been established that Trump is a criminal. He evaded tens of millions of dollars in estate taxes. I shudder to think if Obama had committed a similar crime. And make no mistake. Tax evasion is a serious crime.
Trump is unfit to serve even one more day in office and should be impeached by the House. It won't take long. Move to a trial in the Senate and force the Republicans to stand by their values or lack thereof.
As for threats of violence from Trump's precious base, what do you think is going to happen when he loses the election in 2020? That they will go silently into that good night? I think not.
Rage, rage against the dying of democracy in America.
2
Mr. Comey you appear to be a decent and thoughtful man. However, let’s not beat around the bush, based on the firings of quality FBI and other government employees by Trump, in order to divert attention and obstruct justice, the evidence of obstruction of justice has been in plain sight for a longtime.
The next Trump Tower should be in an 8 x 10 cell.
I fear that as The Bush administration got away with cherrypicked info to get us into the unnecessary Iraq war and as Christie was not convicted regarding “Conegate” when supporting staff around him was, so will Trump survive this national tragedy and not be indicted.
Trumps supporters will side with him whether or not he hypothetically shoots future opposing candidates on 5th Avenue.
The time to act and impeach or “lock him up” is now.
1
Mr. Comey, it is far too late to nitpick about the severity of Trump's gross mismanagement of both leadership policies and the blather he speaks. There are no "best" descriptors for his presidency nor will there ever be. If he loses news traction, he finds a new way to get it back. For example, his sudden support of the Israeli holding of the Golan Heights two days ago.
And when the Mueller report appears, there are also law breaking charges against him in New York. His honesty is so questionable, and his presidency so chaotic, that having him leave office should be America's highest priority.
2
If the U.S.Constitution provides for a method to remove a sitting President for "high crimes and misdemeanors" and the facts and evidence provides a solid case then see no other remedy than impeachment. Fear of backlash or retribution is the reason why "banana republics" and/or dictatorships keep incompetent/cruel leaders in place. We have no kings.
Echoing the strong sentiment that Comey should have some trepidation about an Op Ed such as this, since he is at least partly responsible for the mess in which we now find ourselves.
Seriously Mr Comey...?
1
Ok, Ok. I get it. Comey is evil. Trump is a hero. Or Comey is a hero. Trump is evil. But, for me this is not about criminal wrongdoing. I just hope Mr. Mueller tells us WHY he makes the recommendations he does. Even then, I think, most Americans will still be widely divided and that division will widen. Because this is not about Trump. this is about the fact that Trump is just the fullback who punches the ball the last yard into the end zone. And at the end of the day....the voters will decide what they will and won't accept. And that should be the message here. If you don't like what is happening. If you feel the minority is forcing their will on the majority, or vice versa, go register to vote and help anyone being denied that right or being hindered in the exercise of that right to join you at the polling place on election day. I mean our so called elected representatives who are supposed to do the work of the people stop at nothing NOT to do the work of the people. So if they won't you must. For if everyone in America that could vote, did vote.....imagine what could get done.
2
The moral splendor of a self-righteous person is as likely to help another as that individual's self-regard is likely to admit error. As Mr. Comey has shown, that would be never.
Thank-you to the NYT for publishing this. Obviously many readers have more polarized views on Mr. Comey, but there are a good many Americans who share his views.
Mr. Comey's opinions are neither needed or wanted. I can only think they are part of a new book campaign. He is a pariah 'to both sides' in the President 's vernacular.
1
The GOP rigged the 2016 elections and now are robbing us blind with their tax cuts. They've captured the Supreme Court, and lower courts, so they can now dismantle our rights as women, minorities, immigrants, the environment and on and on. No, this is not OK! And to pretend it is, is infuriating, esp given your own role in this mess Mr Comey.
2
What I want is for James Comey to keep his mouth shut. He has already caused enough trouble with his handling of the Hiliary Clinton e-mail investigation thus handing the presidency to trump.
2
James Comey fears that he may be looking at a long stretch in the Federal Pen.
One sentence - "...the apolitical administration of justice is the beating heart of this country...".
What greater legacy could any country wish for?
1
Cardinal Comey's undeserved 15 minutes of celebrity are about up and he's looking at time for his unsuccessful coup d'etat. The FBI is not unelected Praetorian Guard.
Comey omits an obvious, galling point.
There is already more than enough evidence, right now, to indict and convict "Individual 1." The investigation seems slow because there is a Kanchenchunga of offenses to survey.
Mr. Trump's top goons are already doing time in jail. It is a grotesque travesty of justice that the HEAD of the operation — the unindicted coconspirator — instead gets to waltz around and pretend to be president, shouting "No collusion!" everywhere he goes instead of, say, "Hi! How are you?" With his well-cooked books, there is little question that Mr. Trump would be in jail and should be jail, right now, were it not for a truly braindead Department of Justice policy that shields the president. The situation is so bad that many regard Mr. Trump's clinging to office as the only way he can stave off jail time. He has no exit path, other than trading his wardrobe for an orange jumpsuit. Didn't think it through.
A second tragedy is that impeachment, which is supposed to be a crucial legal remedy, is all but hopeless in a fractured partisan system. The reality is, a criminal can gain control of the White House, not be impeached/convicted/removed, not be removed under the 25th Amendment, and not be indicted/convicted/jailed. The President is effectively above the law, and that's a deadly place for a criminal to be.
You would think this is impossible, except that it happened.
2
That dark, foreboding photo chosen to head this piece is evocative. 'Is this a dagger I see before me?', he looks as if he's thinking.
trump may be pondering the murder of American democracy by killing all its institutions of governance, especially justice, to install himself as strongman.
Kudos to your photo editor.
2
Comey will go down in history as the guy who threw the 2016 election...
And denied Americans our 1st woman president, as well as one of the most qualified.
His judgement is as lame as his excuses.
Had he reported the Trump investigation in July and not reported the Weiner investigation days before the election,
- which found no there there regarding Hillary, she would have won handily in spite of the Russians and hackers etc.
1
"I am rooting for a demonstration to the world that the United States justice system works." Actually just the opposite--You, James Comey, are prima facia evidence that the Justice System is corrupt for if it were not, you would be in prison.
The title of James Comey's article--"What I Want From the Mueller Report"--speaks volumes about his egocentric understanding of himself as the arbiter of justice and "the rule of law."
In truth, Comey is a superfluous flunky who promotes partisan politics.
1
Why is it that impeachment of a Republican president for "high crimes and misdemeanors" is so divisive that it will tear the country apart, but when the GOP impeached Bill Clinton for "lying" about sexual indiscretions there was no such problem? Comey talks about the US justice system as if reading from a high school civics textbook. He knows better than most of us that in the USA you get the justice you can afford just like in the other Third World countries on this planet.
3
@Phillip Parkerson: Yes. What you just said, has boggled my mind since the electoral college appointed this lying, bloated criminal to the highest office of the land over 2 years ago.
Some years ago, Magic Johnson, the famed basketball player was talking with a group of young black kids from the inner city. He was trying to tell them how important it is to do the right thing in society. Several of the young kids attempted to tell him that because of circumstances, like not having a father or parent that really cared, they just didn’t know any better.
He smiled back at the group and said with his typical smile “You Know!”
All of us, regardless of our personal political persuasions know what kind of a person Donald Trump is. If ever there was a reason for Impeachment, Donald Trump was the image that our Founders projected should be removed from office, regardless of whose feelings might be injured. To keep him in office knowing that he’s a criminal who is damaging our country everyday goes against everything our country stands for. If we can’t or won’t impeach Donald Trump, then let’s just remove that section from our Constitution.
2
" Because if Mr. Trump were removed from office by Congress, a significant portion of this country would see this as a coup,''
That's because they are lying fools who cannot read the clear words of the Constitution that explicitly provides for Impeachment. When following the Constitution is seen as illegal, we have proof positive of the fascist takeover of this country.
5
It’s becoming clear that Comey fears being insignificant far more than he fears HIS impending indictment.
Too late Jim. No one cares what you have to say anymore.
Your book stopped selling, mainly because fantasy based on lies just doesn’t sell these days. It just wasn’t any good Jim. I bet it hurt to see your manifesto fall into the Bargain Book Bin so quickly.
We will soon know whether the system works based upon whether or not YOU go to prison.
The Mueller Report: Waiting for Godot.
One of the better commentaries on the importance of the Mueller investigation that I’ve read.
Thank you Mr Comey.
James Comey: A whole editorial about what you want from the Mueller investigation.
What some of us want from you: Some quiet. You've done enough damage already.
3
Comey will always be remembered for his July 2016 FBI presser where he all but verified that Hillary Clinton had violated the provisions of 18 USC 793f:
"Whoever, being entrusted with or having lawful possession or control of any document, writing, code book, signal book, sketch, photograph, photographic negative, blueprint, plan, map, model, instrument, appliance, note, or information, relating to the national defense, (1) through gross negligence permits the same to be removed from its proper place of custody or delivered to anyone in violation of his trust, or to be lost, stolen, abstracted, or destroyed . . . Shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both."
Then, Director Comey proceeded to announce that the FBI would not recommend prosecution, but it didn't matter...the damage had been done. The July FBI press conference...far more the brief reopening of the investigation just before the November election...confirmed for many U.S. voters that Hillary Clinton was unfit for the office of President of the United States.
'Rooting for a demonstration to the world that the US justice system works'.
Yeah, sorry but that ship has sailed.
2
"take a moment from their busy lives to show that they are united by something even more important: the belief that the president of the United States cannot be a chronic liar who repeatedly attacks the rule of law."
You mean like our last 4 presidents?
I think you and your top deputies being fired has already demonstrated our justice system works.
Really, can Comey take his October surprise guilt and just go away already? His actions 9 days before Election Day have cost the US, the rest of the world and the planet dearly. The empire is crumbling. Authoritarianism, white supremacy and blatant kleptocracy may remain features of the US for generations,and Comey still won't admit that his foolish actions are a huge part of how we got here. Thank you, next.
1
James Comey needs to go away. His actions led directly to Trump’s election. The man is a fool and the patriotic handwringing act is getting tired. And now he wants a president who has committed countless crimes *not* to be impeached because it might upset his followers?!? What happened to the rule of law in this country? I’ve got news for Mr. Comey—Trump’s base will consider *anything* that removes him from power to be a coup, whether that’s impeachment, the 25th Amendment, or the 2020 election. The notion of catering to a minority of armed white-nationalist lunatics is insane and just the sort of cowardly compromise that’s put the crazies in the driver’s seat. Enough.
1
"The rule of law depends upon fair administration of justice, which is rooted in complete and unbiased investigation."
...unless you're Hillary Clinton.
2
Trump Inc. is as guilty of fraud and corruption as Netanyahu Inc.
Now the former is influencing the election in Israel by inviting Bibi one week before it to strut around with his BFF in Washington. Bibi will kiss his feet of having announced by tweet that the Golan Heights should forever be part of the "greater" Israel.
Two criminals are working hand in hand to win reelection, while only one them is under indictment for his fraud and corruption.
Why is our very own criminal - and the rest of his mishpocha - not under indictment in the supposedly greatest democracy of the world? Since when did a Department of Justice 'rule' become the law of the land that a sitting president can't be indicted the law of the land?
The reasoning for the DoJ the 'rule' was that president is too busy governing the country, and has no time to go to court and clear himself of all wrongdoing.
Well, the present one with his over 60% of Executive Time, definitely is not busy at all, and add to that all the time he is composing his tweet storms.
Indictment, no impeachment, would finally show that we are being ruled by a Mob-family, one that has plenty of criminal dealings with not only Russians but the Saudis and Qataris to name just a few.
3
This Op-Ed should open with ' As the person most responsible for the Trump presidency'....
2
Nearly every Trump tweet, rally, and TV appearance contains outrageously false attacks on Mueller and others involved in his investigation into Russia’s influence on the 2016 election. Each one of these attacks is an attempt by Trump to obstruct justice. Add them all up and we’ll have hundreds, possibly thousands of felony counts of obstruction where Trump has tried to undermine the investigation.
That alone should have ended Trump’s presidency. Add his many, many off-the-record contacts with Russian agents and his secret meetings with Putin and other Russian heavyweights over the years and there’s a case to be made for treason.
Justice must prevail. As a formerly-proud American citizen, I look forward to November 2020, when I hope to step into the voting booth and not see Trump’s name anywhere.
1
What we really needed was for voters of all stripes who came out to demonstrate their unity 2 years ago to know that both of the candidates were under investigation and why, not just one. In an effort to 'protect' one of those investigations, you changed the course of American history for the worse.
2
Mr. Comey may have some idea of how the justice system should work (notwithstanding his damaging critique and additional investigation of HRC and the mail server), but he doesn't seem to get Congress's checks and balances.
If the evidence exists, you go ahead with impeachment despite the feelings of the Trump faithful - who have done nothing but encourage a "deep fracture of our country".
2
I think Mr. Comey should be commended for this opinion piece. If this democracy is to survive, we must start dealing rationally with policy issues, rather than the current 'it's us against them' mentality.
Currently, I view Mr. Comey as a fallible human being who tried to do the right thing, but with imperfect judgement. I hope history proves me right.
3
@CharlieY: Comey is so naive, he could have been set up by somebody in the FBI chain of custody of Anthony Weiner's computer downloading a copy of a Clinton investigation e-mail file onto it.
So many opinions about - an opinion, Mr. Comey's opinion, to be precise.
Folks - he worked within the system and I daresay that none of the comments herein are from anyone else who saw the inner workings as he did.
He speaks carefully and uses words deliberately - so much so that his intent unfortunately seems lost on those who are already making judgements - about Comey, Trump, etc., etc., etc.
The whole point of his piece seems - to me, that is, my opinion - to be that he earnestly hopes that the system works as it should: transparent, objective, and above all - apolitical.
That seems laudable to me, coming from someone who spent his career working to see justice come to bear.
3
@We the People.
He went against justice dept. guidelines - and the advice of practically ALL his deputies - when he made the HRC email announcement 10 days before the election.
That's not my or anyone else's opinion, it's a fact.
2
@Mike
Granted, but as the leader of the FBI, his role was to weigh the facts - all of them - take in to the account the advice of those around him, and ultimately be the decision maker. Fact.
@We the People.
He wasn't the 'leader' of the FBI, he was FBI director, a position that can be best described as a public servant. It's a job. And like any job it comes with duties and responsibilities - and rules - that are to be followed.
He broke one of those rules. And he knows it.
I absolutely love this guy. He is smarter, more rational, and more committed to the moral and ethical bedrock of this country than 95 percent of the people in government.
Stop whining about his decisions during the 2016 election and how they might have hurt Hilary Clinton's campaign—and defining him and his subsequent actions by them. He did what he thought was right in a nearly impossible situation. Maybe what he decided to do was a mistake, but it did not cost Clinton the election. That's like a football team blaming a loss on one blown call by the referee. Get over it.
To discount everything Comey says now because he has "disqualified himself" with his 2016 decisions is just petulant and small minded. He is 100 percent right about the Mueller report, Trump, and the best way for the nation to eliminate his blight. Bitterness over his (perceived) role in the 2016 election doesn't change that.
4
Even if Mr. Trump is soundly beaten in the next election, a substantial part of the US population will believe this was due to voter fraud. I see no way to come out of this with everyone satisfied that the system selected the next president fairly.
I finally understand, or think I do, the reason for Comey's seemingly strange behavior during the presidential campaign.
He is more concerned with process than outcome. So much so that he, out of a sort of bureaucratic hubris, made a mess of both.
And so we are left with the biggest crisis since the Civil War. And I too hope "... we are up to it." Of which I have more than a little doubt.
2
@James F Traynor
Mr. Traynor - that is the whole point of being objective: to not distort the process in order to bring about an intended outcome!
So wait because some people might not like the outcome the congress should not do their duty? Not much is likely to get done at this rate.
Thank you, James Comey, for stepping up to say your piece, even in the face of what was sure to be harsh criticism from those who don’t want to hear. I long for the day when people of good will and belief in the higher truths of our country will speak out boldly again.
4
From the moment that candidate Trump promised to release his tax return, then pointed to a bogus "audit" to renege, he has been lying to the American people. The American people deserve to know who owns their politicians. Many legitimate questions have been raised about his global business dealings and their role in his decision making. Now that we know that his "I have no business in Russia" is proven false as well, the Mueller report needs to clearly map what those interests are and how they played out in the election.
4
James Comey is among the last people to lecture America on the proper administration of justice. His misjudgments regarding Hillary Clinton arguably swung the election to Trump. A better man than Comey would just go quietly into the good night instead of continually feeding his ego by airing his opinions. When Comey acknowledges fully that he was wrong and publicly apologizes to Clinton, he should be forgiven but not one moment sooner than that.
9
The President and his supporters appear to have rejected all that define American and democratic values. Reinforcing acceptance of the rule of law and fair Justice through an impartial and transparent report from the Special Counsel would be desirable.
In my adult lifetime, there have been Watergate, Iran-Contra, the various -gates involving President Clinton, the falsification of reasons for war with Iraq and inhumane torture memos during the Bush Administration. The commonality is that all Presidents and powerful basically avoided criminal and political Justice, save the Impeachment in the House of President Clinton. I have no doubt, even if made abundantly apparent, President Trump will also escape Justice, and he knows it.
The hypocrisy of the system of justice is a consequence of a lack of will to hold those elected accountable. The DOJ has written a regulation a sitting President cannot be criminally indicted, which, at face value, relieves them of any responsibility. Though not legally tested, such a regulation puts the responsibility of holding elected officials politically accountable onto Congress, which cannot seem to fulfill its constitutional responsibilities unless politically advantageous in upcoming elections. Then, there is the suggestion, wholly supported by Congress and others, we just hope the next presidential election will rid us of anti-democratic, corrupt authoritarians. Justice needs to be valued where justice takes responsibility.
3
My father was a federal criminal investigator for many years. He often said that suspects led the investigations themselves based on their denials and howls of outrage when told how the case was progressing.
To paraphrase Hamlet, the President doth protest too much, methinks.
5
I think Mr. Comey is wrong in his assessment. If Trump is impeached by the House, and a huge majority of Senators go along then I fail to see how that could be seen as a coup.
Speaking as a former long-time Republican, I would like to see Republicans do the right thing if the House impeaches. Will they though? Not with weasels like McConnell and Graham calling the shots.
11
I agree with other comments regarding Mr. Comey's qualifications to comment on potential consequences of Mueller's report. His staggering lack of judgement during the 2016 campaign directly led to the election of Trump and the mess we now find ourselves in. Please, Mr. Comey, stop trying to regain the moral high ground now. You've done enough damage to our political system.
8
I agree with Mr. Comey that we need to have the institutions of the Justice Department and FBI validated, and also respected by as high a percentage of the US population as possible.
I think that Donal Trump's attacks on these institutions is a very bad thing. I find it shocking that he does this. However, if done properly, it is not wrong to challenge the DOJ to adhere to the standards that they claim to have.
I have problems with the basic storyline that we are fed constantly that the values embodied by these institutions are always above reproach. Like any institution, they are the sum of the people who work there, at least to some extent, and those people are not perfect by any means. How could they be?
For anyone who is NOT familiar with what happened to former Alabama Democratic Governor Don Siegelman, well you should be. It is probably the very worst stain on the reputation of the DOJ of all time (and yet most people shrug their shoulders). Yet the proponents of these institutions act like they are completely pristine and above reproach. Not so. Let's not pretend they are and instead try to fix what is wrong when we can, instead of covering it up.
2
With this piece James Comey is living up to the meaning of the words "higher loyalty." Where justice is served there is truth that will be revealed in the Mueller Report. Thanks to Mr. Comey and Mr. Mueller, honorable men, our nation can begin the healing process caused by the last three years of lies, attacks, chaos, lawbreaking and negativity.
3
Comey let Hillary slide with her e-mail arrangement. Then went all in with the Steele dossier. Double standards? It does appear so. A flawed President should be removed by voters not by a politicized justice department and FBI.
3
I am very pessimistic and already braced for Trump's reelection in 2020. Unlike Mr. Comey, I think there are millions of Americans who are perfectly content with a president who is a chronic liar and who repeatedly attacks the rule of law. He has convinced millions that Mueller's investigation is unfair and a personal attack on him. Millions of Americans are not bothered by any aspect of Trump's behavior. As of right now, Democrats seem to be in such disarray and confusion that if the election was held today it's doubtful they could get many votes at all. Whether they can get it together by election day 2020 is anyone's guess. I will vote for whomever they put forward, but I am not so very sure others will. I have already heard grumblings among Democrats I know that some will not vote, unless their favorite is the candidate. How anyone could do this is beyond me, but it makes me even more pessimistic. I don't know how the country can endure another 4 years of Trump, but I have a feeling we're going to find out. God save us.
5
Here we go round the mulberry bush...round and round we go and, in the end, we hope Trump is not impeached? This, I must say, is a bit childish. We don't face great moments in our national life being deeply fearful of what might be our duty. We face it, square on. We have to do what we have to do, even if it is stomach churning, disruptive and upsets a large group of people who have fallen in deeply, hopelessly in love with Trumpism.
"...a significant portion of this country would see this as a coup..."
A significant portion of this country will not look at facts, will not consider, for one microsecond, Trump's glaring unsuitability for the office he holds. We are to be held hostage by those forces?
By putting the idea of "a coup" on the record, Comey, as a former high official of the government, is shoving that idea deeper into general consciousness. Good lordy, hasn't the former FBI Director learned a darn thing about messaging?
Would it not be better if, at this deep junction of crisis, if Comey had told us it would not be a coup but rather the highest expression of what he claims to cherish, the rule of law over the rule of the mob? Instead, he warns us about the mob.
Whatever happens, there will be no impeachment mainly and merely for political ends, as the Republicans conducted against Bill Clinton. It is a grim duty, to be sure, but if it is required, I am convinced there are still members of Congress who are up to their responsibilities.
6
I don't care if Trump's supporters would view impeachment as a coup. What if Muller finds, essentially, that we've already had a coup? In that case, aren't we duty-bound to reverse it by every Constitutional means?
9
James Comey,
If it wasn't for your breach of department rules (not disclosing without indictment), we wouldn't be concerned about Trump's lies, collusion, whatever, because he wouldn't be president.
Firing you is one of the most useful decisions Trump's made.
3
James Comey's piece appears intended to console us. It looks like the Mueller report will disappoint. The Mueller investigation can be divided into two stages: the one before Trump interfered with it by appointing Mr. Whitaker, and the one after. The first stage was full of prosecutorial activity but the second stage seems to have been ... strangled. Manafort beat Mueller by feigning cooperation and getting away with just 7+ years of prison term. Trump beat Mueller by refusing to be interviewed and Mueller did not force the issue.
And with the Democrats veering left, we are poised for another 4 years of Trump. Aaaaargggh! I need a new country! Of course I can move. But emotionally I am tied to this one, at least to the idea of this one.
2
I hope the Mueller report is comprehensive and includes more information than we have received to date on how and why the FBI decided to wiretap individuals with the Trump campaign. Comey's testimony on this issue has been contradicted by the testimony of the former FBI general counsel, James Baker.
So let's get the truth out there - the whole truth and not just selective pieces. I suspect the FBI under Comey isn't going to look as good as Mr. Comey's self serving comments would indicate.
When will we be done with this guy? Not since J Edgar Hoover have we seen an FBI Director injecting himself into the political process in such a ham handed way. His handling of investigation of Clinton campaign use of unauthorized email servers handling classified information - highlighting potential criminal acts, then declining to take action (which was not up to him), then re-opening the investigation days before the election, no doubt influenced the electorate perhaps more than Russia. I have no doubt that President HRC would have fired him or forced his resignation, he has overstayed his welcome in the public sphere.
3
Mr. Comey has made one or two really big mistakes. But that does not disqualify him from having a right to an opinion. And considering his experience as a public figure, perhaps it is worth a listen.
He is right. Restoring faith in our system of government is paramount. Next: electing a sane, mature president who will have a sincere interest in the welfare of every citizen - not just himself.
2020 will be seen as one the most important elections in our history. Will it be a tipping point or a turning point?
Will we continue to tip into bigotry, self serving lies and a decline in world leadership?
Or will we turn the ship of state around with prudent fiscal policies and an acknowledgement of the enormous threats from climate change?
2
Like many commenters here, I believe Comey, given his actions just before the 2016 presidential election, is not in a position to lecture us about strict adherence to the protocols of our justice system. I think we should heed his warning, however, that an impeachment or any removal of Trump from office would be seen by most if not all of Trump’s followers/enablers as a coup. His is a unique perspective that gives him insight to the tribal divisions that exist not just within the general population but within and at the very core of the FBI and the DOJ. It’s an ominous and dire warning that portends historical consequences that may well grow in complexity beyond our ability to control their outcome.
If Mueller has the evidence that Trump was compromised and acted in the interest of foreign powers, not showing this evidence to the American law enforcement, and allowing the president to lead this county for next 22 more months, would be and act of treason. The point is Mueller has nothing on the subject that he was supposed to be investigating, That's why now, all of a sudden,Trump haters do not care what Mueller is going to find. One problem here: two yeast of hyperventilation about Trump collusion has destroyed whatever was left of the media credibility.
3
Let the Mueller Report speak for itself and the chips fall where they may. The innuendo, word speak, and constant attacks on the current administration is a distraction from moving the nation forward and has to end. Let Mueller put the facts on the table and be done with it.
Even a raging liberal cannot argue with the aforementioned approach. Let the facts speak and not the politics.
3
"Because if Mr. Trump were removed from office by Congress, a significant portion of this country would see this as a coup." Wonder where they would have gotten that idea? Fox News needs to be taken off the air, period. I also don't remember anyone speaking up at the FBI when McConnell pursued his Secession by Another Name strategy and didn't appoint a Supreme Court Justice, per the Constitution. If you want to avoid a Civil War, Mr. Comey, show up. The great conflagration started years ago.
4
I find Mr. Comey's pleas for an equal application of justice under the law a bit hollow. He basically held two press conferences in the midst of a presidential campaign that indicted Hillary Clinton for crimes that she was not actually indicted for in reality. I still do not understand what his motivations were, or how the cause of justice was served by calling her a criminal but letting it hang out there for Trump and his minions to scream "lock her up" for the last few weeks of the campaign.
When Mr. Comey says he thinks Mr. Trump is morally disqualified from being president, does he realize that he did as much or more than most to hand him the office?
4
Whether or not he erred in the last election period (I think he did) he has made some good points in this article. It is flawed reasoning to say that because someone made a mistake he is forever barred from general conversation.
4
While Mr. Comey is right about preserving the integrity of the Mueller investigation, he is wrong in dismissing impeachment as too divisive, undercutting his desire for greater moral clarity in American life. Impeachment was trivialized in the Clinton case, but it is the appropriate constitutional remedy for presidential immorality, whether egregious, insidious, or both. His argument gives veto power to a political sect whose chief article of faith is not holding the president morally accountable. To take impeachment off the table is to weaken Congress' capacity to help restore respect for basic moral principles; impeachment should be as bipartisan a process as possible, separate from elections, which requires elected officials to make public moral judgments.
4
I don't care what Mr. Comey thinks or says. We are in this place with a Trump Administration partly due to his actions and words before the election.
1
Impeachment is a judicial procedure, not a political one. I'm inclining to believe that Michael Cohen's testimony deserves more attention to our practical problems: There has been an organized criminal "upperworld" in our society. Our current Rules of Evidence is only capable to punish the poor outlaws.
It's time to try a new approach in preventing the "tough" criminal genius. Impeachment is probably the only resolution to the ongoing constitutional crisis. I would like to call it's a pain of growth of this great nation.
3
The report should not even mention Trump, unless he committed a crime. Tell us what Russia did in the election. Tell us who is being referred for prosecution, and why. Nobody should be surprised if current and former Justice Dept. or FBI agents, even Comey himself is referred for prosecution. Direct testimony before congress makes it impossible for everyone to be telling the truth. The investigation was never intended as a road map to impeach Trump for non criminal activity. The Justice Dept. should not be allowed to direct political investigations to dig up dirt, only prosecute crimes. Any other result will increase the partisanship in a department that should be void of it.
3
Since when is justice defined by not doing the right thing?
If Trump is impeached and convicted it will be because a bipartisan group of federal legislators has found evidence of high crimes and misdemeanors.
If that upsets a group of Trump supporters then so be it.
Because if Congress fails to rightfully remove Trump from office just to placate those Trump supporters, our democracy will have bowed before the will of an autocrat and his mob. Then what happens?
As usual, James Comey has big problems making sense of reality when it counts the most.
3
@Robby Rothfeld
Define what "the right thing" means? Is it right to get a warrant under false pretenses? Is it right to unmask citizens who haven't committed a crime during a wire tap? How about FBI agents conspiring to cause investigations that are politically motivated? I bet when you say what is the right thing, you don't care whether it was moral or legal. Courts are supposed to be a legal remedy, not to just do the right thing. The same should be true of impeachment.
1
Nobody got a warrant under false pretenses, that’s a trump distortion, a lie.
Same as he lies saying the dossier is fake, when nothing in the dossier has been proven to be false.
2
@Bill
Have you seen the warrants? Recently, information has been reported that both Carter Page and George Popodopolous had exculpatory information not included in warrant applications, REQUIRED BY LAW.
I agree with Mr. Comey in principle. But I fear that, as Trump has taken care to surround himself with sychophants whose raison d'etre is to mindlessly protect the president, that high minded justice cannot be achieved. In addition, we have the unfortunate POLICY (as opposed to rule or law) that a sitting president cannot be indicted on the assumption that he is too busy running the free world to be inconvenienced by impeachment. It is true that impeachment would cut into Mr. Trump's golf and Fox News time, but it is the remedy offered by the Constitution and ought not be dismissed.
6
I want answers to these questions, in this order:
Did Russia attempt to influence the 2016 Presidential election?
If yes, can we quantify the results of that effort? Were any votes changed (e.g., by hacking into voting machines or reporting systems) or influenced (e.g., by providing fake news in critical districts which resulted in people voting based on false information about the candidates and their policies)?
If yes, is it reasonable to conclude that the outcome of the Presidential election might have been different had Russia not interfered?
Finally, did Trump and/or his team cooperate with or condone this effort in any way, including post facto attempts to inhibit the investigation.
Only then can we determine what to do about it: both to minimize threats that could reoccur in the future, and to correct the flawed results of that election if appropriate.
7
I wish Mr. Comey held the same commitment to unbiased justice without editorial in the months leading up to the 2016 election. Had he acted consistently with what he is preaching in this opinion piece most of America would probably not know who he is and our democracy would not be imperiled.
11
Whether Trump is impeached or not will make absolutely no difference to the fracture in our nation.
Trump supporters, like Trump, are eternal victims. They will not change or moderate their positions or beliefs.
If Trump is not re-elected they will, with his encouragement, see a rigged result.
An impeachment would, however, raise our standing internationally by a huge degree. The rest of the world would realize that we have moved back from the brink.
We should not fear demanding that our representatives follow the law.
14
Almost no one is without an opinion about Mr. Comey. I'm sure he has an ego--anyone rising to his position would. Nevertheless, I see him as dedicated to serving the country as faithfully as he can.
His opinion is meaningful. A complete, thorough, and objective Mueller report is necessary, and it must be fully made public. Definitive defeat of Trump in 2020 may be the best end for the Trump fiasco, but I cannot help but have a skeptical opinion of a huge segment of voters. Impeachment is not ideal, but what is said about our government if truly impeachable offense--even treasonous ones--are ignored. And at some point, Republicans Senators must truly choose whether they care about the country or only themselves. Finally, since Pence might be equally as bad in slightly different ways, who knows what to hope for.
And then, although he denies knowing, I cannot help but think Mr. Comey does know from his time as Director, how tied was Trump to the Russians. What I would really like to know is how many rank and file FBI agents would stand with Trump when he calls for their protection if and when he refuses to leave office. Mr. Comey must have some idea about that.
5
The Mueller investigation and its findings may provide a defining moment to show the world our commitment to truth and the rule of law. But it will hardly demonstrate to this President that the justice system - which he so often and deeply mocks and criticizes - works. The President sees his position and fortunes through only one lens - his own personal aggrandizement. Whatever the Mueller report finds, this President will treat the whole process, as he has already done, as a colossal waste to time and money, not as proof of the value of the rule of law.
6
If Comey is genuinely looking for evidence of real justice from the U.S. justice system, he should probably get in line behind all the Black and Brown US. citizens who continue to harassed, incarcerated, and killed by police at significantly higher rates than their white counterparts for the exact same crimes. The realist in me expects the United States to do what it has historically done when faced with the responsibility of prosecuting wealthy white men: ignore and protect white malignity at all cost.
Trump getting away with treason, profiteering, and a host of other illegal things wouldn’t be proof that the U.S. justice system is broken, but rather a glaring example that it’s working exactly the way wealthy individuals and special interests have designed it to work. The fact that he’s still in office is a testament to America’s workshop of rich white male mediocrity. The equitable and just system upon which Comey hangs his hopes, would have never been asked to pass judgement on such an unethical president. Trump would have been arrested years or even decades ago.
In a land governed by precedence, white, rich, wealthy, and unethical individuals more often than not escape punishment proportionate to their crimes. I would strongly advise Comey to not hold his breath.
4
Mr. Comey, if the justice system really did its job, if it really worked, half of DC would be in jail. Who would lead us then? Loud mouths and unequipped neophytes?
Bureaucrats who lie to Congress, lobbyists who lie to bureaucrats, politicians who lie to the public, that's all we have left. It is an ego job to aspire to the presidency and one that promises fame and great fortune. After "serving the public" one serves oneself - richly. You may have noticed.
4
Until James Comey admits that he made a colossal mistake that helped hand the election to Trump, unleashing all the attendant damage to this country and the world, until he accepts his share of responsibility for the horrors we continue to endure under this corrupt and inept President, and offers deepest apologies, he should keep silent and stop handing out opinions on anything in public life. I find him unbearably sanctimonious.
9
Mr. Comey's opinion, and his statement of what he "hopes for," contradict his very own actions. He chose to circumvent the Department and principles he now tries to eloquently espouse (we have "a justice system that works because there are people who believe in it and rise above personal interest and tribalism," except, of course, when it involves the Democrat candidate's use of emails). He shouldn't have said a word so late in the campaign, but having chosen to do so nevertheless, fundamental fairness would've dictated that he also disclose the existence of a counterintelligence investigation into Trump's campaign. He personally swung the election with his unflinching display of hubris. Now, he should shut up.
8
Donald Trump gave form and function to conspiracies of deep state and a rigged election while campaigning in 2016. All of which drove Mr. Comey into a politically asymmetric public scolding of Hillary indubitably influencing the election. Now, he hopes the gravitas of Mueller justice will instill docility and self-discipline to ardent Trump supporters simmering in a toxic brew of unrelenting verbal disembowelment of law enforcement and cries of liberal coup. Good luck with that.
4
Coward. This country doesn’t need James Comey to tell us that the rule of law matters. That Trump is a liar and clearly unfit to run a popsicle stand, let alone our nation. Too late. You had your chance to be brave and instead proved yourself to be an attention seeking pedant. Now you advise that even if Trump should be impeached, Congress should just let things slide so as not so upset those who continue to be duped by Trump? Thanks for the advice.
5
The country is already fractured - 'fracked' by trump and his base of Republican conspirators.
I confess that I do hope trump is impeached regardless of what the Mueller report concludes or that Republican partisans over country in the Senate will never convict. It is important for history's sake. The worst criminal president in the history of our nation should appear on any list of impeached presidents with their corresponding footnotes as to why they weren't convicted. To have Bill Clinton on that list for a petty reason and with trump absent is a crime against history. Let the awful trump legacy be recorded with an impeachment by the majority he stole the election from.
If trump can't be impeached now without Mueller's report, there is no reason to have impeachment on the books. It's a surrender of the Constitution and the notion that no one is above the law - because individual-1, his family and cronies are effectively above the law - pardons and all.
Removing a criminal out of office he stole is not a coup, just because his criminal backers say so.
Hopefully he is removed before he causes further irreparable damage to our country and planet. It is not democratic to give any president, regardless of how criminal, a pass with full immunity while he's president, then hope to arrest him if he ever leaves office. This is how dictatorships are born as keeping power keeps them unaccountable.
Elections? We already know they can be rigged and stolen - by Republican-Russians.
9
Just like our main stream media, Comey is bending over backwards to demonstrate he's non-partisan. But it's not plausible. In fact, he (and the media) keep demonstrating a bizarre and unending forgiveness for our country's long-corrupt Right Wing.
Comey says, "Even though I believe Mr. Trump is morally unfit to be president of the United States, I’m not rooting for Mr. Mueller to demonstrate that he is a criminal."
Well why not, Mr. Comey? We should all be rooting for Mueller to find evidence that might force Trump's removal from office because Trump proves every single day that he is a disgrace to the office and a danger to our democracy.
Comey himself admits, "It is deeply concerning that the president of the United States would try to protect himself by torching the institutions of justice.” What more reason should we need to want Trump removed? But then Comey says, “But he hasn’t used his authority to end Mr. Mueller’s work.” Again, a bizarre statement considering that Comey himself was sitting at the receiving end of one of Trump’s many attempts at obstruction of justice.
Comey is still a very conflicted conservative. It got him in trouble in the past. He still hasn’t learned.
5
"We need a resounding election result in 2020...the president of the United States cannot be a chronic liar who repeatedly attacks the rule of law."
That I agree with, however, I find myself running hot and cold on Mr. Comey.
Though Hillary is far from blameless in her loss, it's hard to argue that Comey's "October surprise" had no impact.
Regarding indictment, impeachment, or even "unindicted co-conspiracy", I personally would take great pleasure in witnessing the spew from the president if the report fingered him, but the pragmatic side of me agrees with Comey here... the consequences may be be detrimental. A resounding defeat at the polls could be just as entertaining if delayed.
3
"We need a resounding election result in 2020, where Americans of all stripes, divided as they may be about important policy issues — immigration, guns, abortion, climate change, regulation, taxes — take a moment from their busy lives to show that they are united by something even more important: the belief that the president of the United States cannot be a chronic liar who repeatedly attacks the rule of law. Then we can get back to policy disagreements.
I just hope we are up to it."
And I hope we are too. And I think impeachment would be more than a coup. Does anyone really want Mike Pense, a Christian fundimentalist, elevated to the presidency? I would think not, he would be as bad, and maybe worse than Trump. Vote them both out, and then put Trump on trial, and see what happens after that. And call Pense as a witness.
1
As someone who goes back and forth about impeaching Trump, I must say this Op-Ed is very well-written and thought out. I'd like to see Trump and his family in prison stripes due to all the damage he has done to this country. But, in the end, what is more important is the "rule of law" and the exercise of that. If there is not enough evidence to prove that the President of the United States and his family knowingly colluded with a foreign power to affect the elections, that is what we need to know. Trump and his family have done soooo many illegal things, that they will get what they deserve later. We just need to do the investigate right and release it to the American public, and then have our 2020 election and let everyone decide what to do about this horrible person who is President.
3
It's not just Trump who needs to be admonished and shamed by the American people with their vote in 2020.
Somehow, after Trump's executive order threatening to remove Federal aid from those universities who "silence" conservative speakers, I could not cleanse my mind of knowing that so-called conservative Anne Coulter believes that free speaker Lebron James -- concerned about justice issues -- should "shut up and dribble."
Just think about the cruel insidious intentions and implications of that statement!
The Laura Ingrams, and Limbaughs of our country have poisoned intelligent conversation, and need to clean up their act.
Speech needs to improve the public good, not destroy it.
We do not need more rage from the tribes, we need civility and good honest intentions from well-intentioned leaders.
Where are they? We know them.
4
Agree Paul
1
This is a hugely unsatisfying and probably disingenuous commentary. Surely Mr. Comey knows that no matter what the report says, Trump and his enablers will see it as a biased and politically-driven investigation. Trump will likely say that it proves there was no monkey business regardless of what the report says. If there are impeachable offenses then Congress must take up the process, knowing that cries of "coup" are to be expected. (I live in a country where we went through this a couple of years ago, and cries of "coup" were constant). It would be painful, but the US is strong enough to weather it, despite Trump's and the GOP's best efforts to weaken it.
6
A president who will attack our war heroes and disparage NATO is great payback to Putin's investment in helping to install Trump. A greatly divided country with increasing income inequality will weaken the USA to the point that Putin can attach whatever territory he sees fit as he has a death grip on Trump.
4
I've long maintained that James Comey is a fool, but an honest fool. I don't think there is a dishonest bone in his body, and I think he is a fair and decent, moral and ethical man. But still a fool.
He's a lawyer. I'm not. But he doesn't seem to understand that Impeachment is there precisely to give the Congress the power to remove a calamity like Trump, overseen by the Chief Justice. The requirements for Impeachment are a simple majority in the House, but conviction takes 2/3 of the Senate. As 53 are Republicans, it means at least 20 of them must decide that THIS President must be removed.
Comey's concern for a violent insurrection is real and well-placed, but it is EXACTLY that misplaced thinking that allowed him to assume he had to announce a re-opening of the email review days before the election. I don't think Comey's a coward, but I do think he's a fool, again, catering to the Right of the nation over the Center and the Left, or more importantly, the Rule of Law.
When Watergate happened, I was 17, Comey was 11. When Nixon resigned, I was 19, he was 13. So I remember better how the virtual impeachment happened. The nation was divided. Students were shot on campus, Vietnam was raging & Nixon had catered to reactionaries and racists. But wise and careful House and Senate investigations ultimately made the result inevitable: Nixon had to go. And the nation survived. Impeachment requires bipartisanship to succeed.
Comey's the lawyer. He should know this.
6
What I want from Robert Mueller are answers. Is our President under the thumb of Vladimir Putin? Did he conspire and cheat his way into the White House? If so, the House needs to begin proceedings to remove him from office and let Senate Republicans go on record as supporting the betrayal of our republic or not. If Trump is innocent of our worst suspicions, fine, back to politics as usual. This country needs answers to those fundamental questions and if the Mueller investigation does not provide them it will have failed us all.
5
I guess Mr. Comey is telling us he hopes the Democrats will win the White House in 2020. We know what happened the last time he interfered in a Presidential election. Nothing good.
3
To think Comey doesn't have an inside view of the Mueller operation is preposterous. Not a complete view, an inside view.
There can be no question that Mueller has been trickling vague bits of leaked information for weeks about how this report will not prove Trump's guilt about treason, collusion with Russians to manipulate the election or obstruction of justice. It may not even nail him on conflicts of interest.
The smartest assessment I've read so far says that this will be a thin spiral-bound white paper on the 50 different ways other prosecutors can go after Trump in the coming generations. Great, so Trump seeks to be president for life to avoid indictment.
Why wouldn't the Mueller report conclude Trump can and should be impeached for high crimes and misdemeanors? The majority of Americans believe he must be guilty of such acts regardless of the wisdom of impeachment and the horrible consequences to the social fabric of this nation. Yet it is the set of consequences that would be the ultimate destructive act Trump could possibly commit short of another world war: impeaching him would be countless orders of magnitude worse than the boorish and bigoted behaviors he has perpetrated since he's been a public figure. Trump would tear this nation apart with only the Civil War being the greater disaster by which to compare his destruction.
Mueller likely knows all this better than anyone else and he doesn't want to feed the monster. A thin paper will drive Trump crazy.
1
James Comey was midwife to the birth of the Trump administration because of his enormous hubris. By seeking to put the FBI’s reputation ahead of Justice Department guidelines and established precedence he single-handedly handed the country to Trump.
And now the choirboy is lecturing us again. Mind you, he is not wrong in what he writes, but nonetheless he is tainted.
3
Sanctimonious beliefs are not enough, particularly when coming from the man whose imprudence, so to say, helped elect subject number 1. I actually do not see the reason for this tautological tirade.
4
Gosh, I really hope someone can put out this colossal fire...says the man with the large can of gasoline and recently struck match.
2
I'm still flabbergasted that the rule of law and the constitution are not on the same plain of existence. Things like life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness are ideas and there are no laws pertaining to this. It was a wake up call to many of us that a creature like Trump could not only be elected, but (within the law) systematically work to dismantle the very things so many of us (the majority!)held as self evident truth. There are no laws to stop a president from appointing department heads who's mission is to dismantle and destroy the very purpose of those departments. That a president could lie and bully and attack individual citizens simply because he lacks a moral compass and may in fact be unhinged. There are no laws to keep these things from happening because the constitution is based on ideas. When a president swears an oath when taking office to protect the constitution what does that even mean? These are the things I am deeply upset about. I respect the rule of law, but what good is it when a crook and immoral soul can simply be a fox in the henhouse with no way of stopping it. Mueller did great things bringing to justice those thugs he could that clearly broke the law. For that I'm grateful, but if the laws simply aren't there......then what? Do we all just shrug and say "well at least the rule of law was upheld". We still have a horror show in the white house.
2
It must show that No One is above the law.
3
”That system may reach conclusions they like or it may not, but the apolitical administration of justice is the beating heart of this country.”
Oh do I hope this is true!!
Well said. But still, what *I* want is to see Donald Trump led out of the White House in handcuffs.
2
Our justice system was working just fine, Mr. Comey, until you decided singlehandedly to work outside the well established regulations and norms that helped plunge our country into this mess. Your high road sermon is nothing more than your very transparent effort at redemption. Go home, Mr. Comey. It's up to the American people now to fix what you broke.
4
We’ve already learned ad nauseam that James Comey has an opinion on things thank to his voluminous post-contemporaneous notes he’d write to himself after the fact to support whatever feeling he thought he had at the moment about anything. But what’s a few lines more?
1
Comey makes and easy target for people angry at the outcome of the election. I, too, think he should have kept his mouth shut.
BUT 60+ million citizens voted for the orange headed buffoon and the vast majority of those were not going to vote for Hillary, no matter what.
And the Dems and Hillary made historic mistakes of arrogance about the 'Blue Wall', and trying to flip Florida. An historid opportunity was squandered.
Blame Comey for stepping out of his portfolio of duties. I share the outrage. And I have plenty to share with the outdated and dysfunctional EC too.
But don't forget to blame Hillary and the Dems, for if there ever was an election where a joke of a candidate should have been blown away – and massively – this was that election and Trump that candidate.
Face it folks, we who loathe Trump, fail to understand what makes those who voted for him tick.
2
The WH right now is at DEFCON 2 –
We do not know what the Mueller report will say – and most intriguing is what will be the correct reaction to it. I am confident that the report will state the truth. I am sure it will spray and grow metastasizing in a fractal pattern. An eventually a full constitutional crisis will erupt due to the persons involved in the equation. Sad to say. DEFCON 1 will come. There will be casualties – but I hope they will be the correct ones. The country needs it.
1
If only Mr. Comey had taken this moral high ground in 2016, instead of skewering HRC with his personal opinion. Mr. Comey was part of the "storm" (along with the Russians) that helped Mr. Trump take office -- must be tough to sleep at night -- I know I've had little sleep since Mr. Trump was elected. What I want from the Mueller report is that Mr. Trump is the fraud who didn't really win the election, but stole and has been abusing the Americans who didn't vote for him ever sense.
4
Comey once again injects himself at the wrong time and shares the wrong opinion.
Trump if guilty of crimes should be removed from office and indicted immediately.
The coup happened when you stood in public in October 2016 to tell us Clinton was being investigated just before a very close race with a Russophile dictator.
The real crook won and you sir helped the process.
4
Impeachment isn't a coup. To even suggest that is to ignore the rule of law we live under.
2
I just wish James Comey hadn't compromised the integrity of the FBI by bungling the Clinton investigation announcements, allowing Donald Trump to easily and foreseeably weaponize Comey's own remarks and win the presidency.
1
Trump is ALREADY an unindicted co-conspirator: "Individual 1" in one of the Michael Cohen indictments. He is running a lawless administration full of corrupt people. If our system of laws is not enough to take down this crew, we need a new system. Our own Declaration of Independence exhorts us to institute new systems when the current ones no longer work. Time for big changes.
2
Like we need to hear any more from Comey. The guy's sense of self is sized larger than average.
3
There will be no resounding defeat of Trump in 2020. Not enough people will vote, or will be allowed to vote. That's American.
James Comey caused the defeat of Hilary; the 3-milllion vote popular winner of the 2016 election.
Without his illegal and untimely comment 11 days before the 2016 election, we would not have the worst POTUS in this country. Trump.
Comey is clearly the reason we have Trump.
Blame him: take whatever action against him you can.
2
Mr. Comey will go down in history as one of the most egotistical and dishonest public servants ever to infect Washington, DC. And I would caution him against his obviously false desire to see justice done. Fundamentally, if justice were to be done he would already be in federal prison.
1
Sorry, Mr Comey. You have already demonstrated that the justice system doesn't work.
2
You said it was “unavoidably horrible” to disclose that the FBI was reviewing more Hillary Clinton emails. And that happened 11 (eleven!) days before the 2016 presidential election.
To this day, I remember the shift I felt in the momentum, the spirit, the energy of the election.
I hold you solely responsible for that.
And then came the avalanche of the social media sickness we now know Russians were behind...
I have great respect for you, but I also have great anger and believe you are partly responsible for the results of that election.
If the United States justice system works, where was proof in 2016? 2017? 2018? And where is proof in 2019?
What I know today is that greed works. Ignorance works. Corruption works.
What I want from the Mueller Report is evidence that punishes the greedy, the ignorant, the corrupt.
I hold these truths to be self-evident (and I am working on forgiving you).
3
That's how I always remember it... bad guys invade the town, run amok, ignore the rule of law, take over the mayors office, corrupt as much as they can of the Marshals office, but then... at the dramatic peak... the Marshal, A FEDERAL LAWMAN... walks out at High Noon... and announces:
"Well, folks are just afraid of violence and many of them LIKE the outlaws ... so we'll just let them do what they want. But just you wait until that next election you darn bad guys!"
2
Impeaching Trump would install Pence as President, setting him up to run in 2020. That would be tragedy.
This administration is like an infection - the damage grows and accumulates. Trump ought to be impeached. He is unfit, a liar, cheat and petty criminal. What does it say about us if we refuse to call a spade a spade?
4
I always wonder if Mr Comey, have any regrets going after Senator and Secretory Hillary Clinton a week before election ?
Now we got the Monster in chief thanks to him , trump is taking the Country to its ruins with his corruption, lies, mental instability .
Now there is no going back .
If trump wins again in 2020 we are doomed.
3
It is clear that Mr. Comey is trying to take the higher ground here, but his comments ring hollow. He knows that the 2020 election is nearly upon us, so Trump's removal from office is moot because the U.S. Senate would never remove him before then. Unfortunately, Mr. Comey's own hubris before the 2016 election is unforgivable. He was quick to inform voters about Hillary Clinton's emails but not Trump's alleged Russian connections during the election. Who does he think he is? Mr. Comey would do us all a favor by keeping silent.
4
Comey's instincts on protecting the rule of law appear to be as sound as ever.
My belief that Donald Trump is a criminal who should be felled is as irrelevant as others' belief that Comey's damaging impact on the Clinton campaign means that he must have acted improperly.
If the justice system returns a report that offers a definitive assessment that Trump is merely a bumbler whose political ignorance and whose longstanding business relationships with Russians led him into superficial conflicts of interest, I'll accept it. Short-shrift treatment will only deepen the problem, which is Americans' seriously damaged belief in the rule of law.
A comment made below as follows:
The heuristic people use when assessing evidence is, "If this was a big deal, I'd care about it."
says it all. No thought of the moral or ethical dimensions of Trump's presidency, not for an instant is the question posed: "Is this right?".
Until Americans find their moral compass and form an ethical spine which takes them beyond the slogan: "It's the economy stupid", nothing will change, and the rest of the world will continue to read the astonishing headlines declaring that, because the economy is good - and unemployment is low - Trumps' re-election in 2020 is looking good.
Unbelievable.
1
It is disturbing to contemplate that Trump was nominated by a major party and elected in an election by the antiquated electoral college when he lost the popular vote by 3 million votes.
It was obvious in any examination of his past that he was a man of low moral character and a pathological liar. He campaigned as a right wing populist demagogue and ridiculed and threatened all his opponents and the election process as rigged. He was revealed during the campaign to be a sexual predator on tape and it was known by Comey that Russia was interfering in the election process to favor him and that his campaign had contacts with Russia. He flaunted his weird love for Putin publicly in debates and asked him to release emails to smear his democratic opponent. He relished violence in his campaign rallies and used his role in the Birther movement to appeal to white nationalism. Yet the Republican base still voted for him and apparently still support him. In this they are abetted by the propaganda of Fox News and Breitbart. Yes Trump’s alternative facts! Thus, I think it may be naive to think that his supporters are even interested in the truth and in justice when it would require them to see their complicity in his election.
I feel the Mueller Report will only be effective if it not only illuminates the truth, but enables our legal system to pursue justice though impeachment if necessary and through indictment of the President if criminal activity is revealed. Otherwise it will fail.
5
It will be a tough two year slog. Because each day is a misery of demonic possession by the ignorant and ill mannered. So, the photo shows the petard we so much want this pretender to the throne to be hoisted on. He needs the monument where it can be felt. General Washington would likely allow it to be so employed. But Comey, i agree, no impeachment mess. Sit on hands for two years and let the press and Cummings do their jobs.
1
I think it is plainly obvious to a vast swath of the U.S. citizenry that the president is above the law. Ask Trump supporters, and they'll tell you Clinton and Obama are above the law. What could be more literal than the claim a sitting president cannot be indicted? What can be more obvious than the extraordinarily high bar that must be overcome to apply any level of legal remedy?
Loo, let's just quit lying to ourselves! The more political power or financial wealth persons have, the less they have to worry about the law applying to them. Look at how no bankers went to jail for the Great Recession and how so many executives, senators and representatives get away with crimes and terribly unethical behavior.
Quit lying to yourselves, 'Muricans.
“it would drive those people farther from the common center of American life”—
Sorry, director Comey, that is not a good enough reason to not impeach Trump and remove him from office.
3
At the start of Nixon's impeachment the majority of Americans thought it was politically motivated. By the end, they had seen the process and his guilt and majority opinion swung against him. Let impeachment lay out the facts so people see his corruption is more than a political divide. There is a witch in this witch hunt.
2
If Trump was elected illegally with Russia interference and Trump's support, he needs to resign. A new election is the only solution.
These are unusual times. But Mr. Comey, it would seem, was not equal to the challenges that having a putative felon in the office of the president of the United States posed.
There's a kind of of Boy Scout flavor to Mr. Comey's comments here, and his handling of Trump in general. What happened to the G-Men? Comey's not dealing with a jaywalker here, he's dealing with a synthesis of Reinhard Heydrich and Carlo Ponzi.
This trend in America - this holier-than-thou bible-thumping civil servant model - has given us highly effective law enforcement officers like Robert Hanssen, who couldn't decide whether he wanted to be a choir boy or a soviet spy while he was going to Mass during working hours and being a high-level counter espionage agent in the FBI. Maybe he could be both?
In The Beyond, all things meet...
2
There are quite a lot of liberals who don’t seem to have grasped the fact that simply because Pres. Trump is noxious doesn’t mean that every allegation made against him is to be credited. The Mueller Report, whatever it contains, won’t do a lot to alleviate the hysteria in this country. We’re too far gone for that; and for both sides, the sunk costs are too great. Myself, I want nothing from Mueller bar the truth, but I’ve accepted that even that may, in many cases, be impossible to discern.
“Sometimes, it is true, even rogues may be wronged by people forming judgements without the necessary knowledge of the facts.” —Manzoni, “The Betrothed”
The "election" of Trump in 2016 has undermined all confidence in our elections. Whether it is red states purging Democrats from voter registration or placing impediments to Democrats voting, or not counting Democrat votes or the Electoral College multiplying the votes of rural red states, elections don't always reflect the will of the people. So while sane America will vote in 2020 to throw Trump into a garbage can, don't count on the election to reflect that fact.
2
"...if Mr. Trump were removed from office by Congress, a significant portion of this country would see this as a coup..."
This is cowardly. Since when should the American public be expected to disregard what is, after all, their obligation to demand the removal of a President proved to be unfit for office, simply because they're afraid some people won't like it?
If the President were to be removed legally and for worthy reasons, would it, in fact, be a coup? No. So Americans are under no obligation to play the odds, game the field or think in terms of the long run when it comes to dealing with Trump's base. We are required only to be courageous and do what is fit, right and proper.
2
If Trump’s removal from office via impeachment would be viewed as a coup by his supporters, what would you call his election to the office as a result of collusion with a hostile foreign power?
1
Mr. Comey's rationalizing and lecturing always smacks of apologizing costumed as boy scout moralizing. We're not the ones who need your civics lessons, sir.
Nothing could make Trump's base any more galvanized than Trump himself. Why should they be protected from themselves? Enough of this dancing around the precious fractures. Trump and his base (and the nation as a whole) must have a reckoning by whatever constitutional, fact-based means necessary. Let come what may.
4
Mr. Comey, by your own sworn admission, you leaked classified information and signed a FISA warrant that you knew contained unverified information.
Hoping that justice prevails is hoping for your own incarceration.
1
The U.S. has a president who has manifestly cheated on his taxes (by setting up a tax-free foundation which he used to pay for personal expenses and as a political slush fund) and bragged about it ("It makes me smart"). Who is clearly in violation of the Constitution's emoluments clause. Who appoints his friends and families to high office without consideration of ability or preparation. And who is obviously more interested in selling out his country to its long-standing enemy while ignoring and castigating its allies.
Seen from abroad, the U.S. is indeed a banana republic. If the House does not start impeachment proceedings, it is in dire dereliction of its constitutional duties. What in Mr. Mueller's report could make it more obvious?
4
Comey is responsible for this mess. He is investigating Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, but only tells the public about Clinton, twice. He belongs on the list with Trump and McConnell as the great destroyers of our democracy.
2
Agree with Comey’s final sentiment. Democrats and Republicans who care about the country should put aside Party differences for one election and put in a Democrat to get us back on track to normalizing the Presidency and relationships with our Allies, so badly damaged by Trump. D’s and R’s, let’s get rid of this wrecking ball of a president in 2020, then we can all go back to fighting as usual in 2024.
2
so the same guy who had his findings already typed out in regards to the clinton investigation before he even interviewed her is now saying all he cares about is that the trump investigation is complete. hes praising the doj as being nonpartisan. the same doj that ordered the fbi not to charge clinton. comey himself signed off on fisa warrants that used the steele dossier as support knowing it wasnt never varified. comey clearly shows what he thinks of the american peoples intelligence.
Comey altered the outcome of the election by casting doubt about Clinton's honesty on a number of different issues weeks before election day. That, coupled with the Wikileaks release, doomed her candidacy. Comey is part of why we have this circus side show in the White House.
Intelligent people who find Trump abhorrent in every way possible are wise enough to know the Mueller report will not be Trump's undoing.
The real hope that Trump is removed from office prior to the 2020 election lies with the SDNY. I think they have the goods on Donny and his grifter family. They are waiting to Mueller to release his report and then the second act will begin. And Trump can not pardon his way out of that one, thank god.
3
@EB
I agree; the SDNY can indict Trump and the Federal Gov't. can do nothing to stop it. Mueller can present his findings to Congress, the Justice Dept., and to the SDNY. He is independent.
1
@EB SDNY is federal & convictions of Trump and others such as family members could be pardoned. But NY State convictions like false statements made for bank loans, or to insurance companies cannot be pardonable.
Comey is a low-life. After stating that DJT-Russian collusion existed now he is backing off. This after he swallowed the fake dossier hook-line-and-sinker.
1
I find Comey's defense of the indefensible indicative of a culture accustomed to unbridled power and it's furtherance.
Trump is inexcusable by any moral standard. He has divided the nation quite profoundly, even risking civil unrest and threatening the same were he to lose the 2016 election.
If not impeached, Trump must be continually and deeply investigated by truly independent investigators unlike Comey's crew or a "Special Council" that answers to Trump's justice department as Mueller will ultimately do.
The election was molded to an outcome, and so is the Mueller investigation. It's just another scam.
1
Mr. Comey's pious hopes that the country sees justice administered following the release of Robert Mueller's report so that the world can see that we are a country of laws is annoyingly disingenuous! He claims to have no position on what he hopes emerges from Mr. Mueller's report, and I find that really hard to swallow.
His claim that impeachment of Trump would amount to a coup is equally "off" in tone, since a coup is a "sudden illegal, often violent, taking of government power, especially by part of an army" according to the Cambridge Dictionary. There would be nothing "sudden" or "violent" about Congress deciding that Mr. Trump has gone too far in his criminal behavior, and deciding to impeach him.
Although Mr. Comey played a crucial role in the defeat of Hillary Clinton, I find his words underwhelming and unconvincing.
4
What I want is for James Comey to retire from public life. His Boy Scout sanctimony makes me more than slightly nauseous after his ego-driven blunders in announcing days before a national election that the Democratic candidate’s emails were again under investigation, tainting the election and then, an insipid “never mind, it was nothing” that couldn’t undo the taint. He broke agency protocols in doing so, then, having tainted an election, went back to following protocol when it suited him. The above conduct was a disgrace to the office he held. I’d be content never to hear his sanctimony again. May he enjoy a long, relaxing, quiet and private retirement.
2
First: why were comments were closed first and now enabled again?
Comey is a typically unreliable character. Giving him a voice is giving unreliable characters a voice.
For the life of me, I have no clue what he is talking about here. I don’t think the editor knows either since he himself does not know.
It is a fog generating machine in a cheap amusement park with a hall of mirrors.
If people were fooled once and got Trump elected over that flawed but infinitely better candidate, let’s watch out this time. Following this weirdo is following the Mad Hatter in Alice in Wonderland. The only difference that our weirdo is a foot taller.
I really don’t want to hear from James Comey on anything to do with the 2016 Presidential election or the Mueller Report.
The fact is that because of Mr. Comey’s improper interference with the 2016 Presidential election we know have Trump “the despicable” as the President.
At both times that Mr. Comey interjected himself into the election process he cast great doubt in the voters minds about Hillary and cut her growing momentum which then turned in favor of Trump.
Mr. Comey should go retire or find another new career, but stay out of politics.
2
While showing the rest of the world that America remains a country where justice prevails is good, and not impeaching Trump sounds strategically logical, it ignores the fact that by doing so, by not impeaching him when it is deserved, we will have once again rewarded his bullying tactics. Make no mistake, he is purposely coddling and inciting the most angry and bigoted among us, and making barely disguised threats of violence with the precise and well calculated goal of scaring people away from properly prosecuting him. Using mob boss tactics, he is basically telling the country that if we testify against him he’ll have his henchmen do physical harm to our family. Are we to be cowed by such threats? Do we appease the conman so he can continue to con us? It pains me to hear Comey kowtow to these threats. Whether to impeach, or not, should rest totally with the facts of the case, and have nothing to do with threats of violence and a frightening divisiveness. Healing requires that all that has been redacted be made visible and let the chips fall where they may. And if Trump committed indictable crimes, then indict him and let the courts figure out the best path to prosecution.
1
Interesting that one of the (formerly) most powerful men in the justice system, who morally collapsed to the far right on the Hillary Clinton e-mail investigation, is not pontificating about how the justice system should work.
You counter yourself by wishing for justice but fearing impeachment. If the president is found guilty of impeachable offenses then so be it, that is our justice system at work. Allowing fear into the equation, fear of those crying coup, would show the world that our justice system is a flimsy sham corruptible by intimidation.
Mr. Comey.
If Trump's conduct gives rise to impeachment then we must impeach and not worry about a percentage of voters who might be offended.
Nixon was given a pass on prosecution after resignation. The President is not above the law and the constitution is soiled and damaged if you give Trump a pass if he is a criminal.
That would lower the bar below Nixon and 70% of the voters will be disgusted with the failure of democracy.
Your hand wringing and lack of good judgement in handling the 2016 Clinton allegations are again evident.
"If Mr. Trump were removed from office by Congress, a significant portion of this country would see this as a coup, and it would drive those people farther from the common center of American life, more deeply fracturing our country." What absolute nonsense. Our Democratic system is at stake. It is far more dangerous to allow two more years of chaos and destruction in the White House than it is to offend "the base."
1
The Mueller Report will not be complete unless it contains copies of Trump's recent taxes, x-rays of his bone spurs, a copy of his prenup agreement with Melania and a full accounting of all violations of the Mann Act that have occurred in his personal residences and hotel rooms during the past ten years.
2
On second thought, let's make that:
The Mueller Report will not be complete unless it contains copies of his recent taxes, x-rays of his bone spurs, hair samples establishing the precise chemical chemical of his wig, a copy of his prenup agreement with Melania, his SAT score, his Montreal Cognitive Assessment score (the authentic one) and a full accounting of all violations of the Mann Act that have occurred in his personal residences, golf clubs and hotel rooms during the past ten years.
1
This isn't a political issue. It's a constitutional principle. Forget about national prestige. The criminal cancer should be cured at all costs. Enough is enough. For the sake of our national interests, security and future.
Blind loyalty to a conman who accidentally usurped the executive power due to foreign ploys is equivalent to treachery.
Comey dares to tell us what he wants from Mueller report. Every time Comey speaks on this Trump saga, he adds insult to injury, having deliberately and single-handedly created the nightmare we now experience. The best Mr. Comey can do for his country is to apologize, repeatedly, for his complicity in creating the Trump chaos.
2
When a plurality of the electorate supports the policies of the most ignorant, narcissistic minority president in US history, I don't worry about a coup or dividing the country. Standing up to fascism, resistance, is what counts.
I'm sad that so many Americans are too lazy or unthinking to evaluate candidates and to repudiate a Know-nothing like Trump before they vote. We just need to fund schools by downsizing banks. Schools should look like palaces, banks like the corner store. Until we turn our values right side up we will be plagued with a thoughtless group of people who do not understand or appreciate what Trump is demolishing.
So, impeachment is legal and constitutional. It is the best alternative when the president acts to appease foreign adversaries and gut the institutions that keep this government working and the world at peace.
Don't be afraid, James. We the people can handle a little divisiveness. Stand up and be counted.
1
I'm not sure that DJT knowingly conspired with the Russians in connection to the 2016 elections but, by now, it should be evident that he did, out of naïveté and his own greed, hire and conspire with un-vetted grifters. Those outsiders, and family members, seem to have had too many meetings and international ties to be anything but suspicious. I hope that the Mueller report illuminates all of this and that the American people wake up. To elect a man so full of himself on the "promise" that he would look out for them is a fool's errand, just like hiring the grifters in the campaign who looked out for no one but themselves.
I cannot figure out what Comey is saying. If the Mueller Report makes findings of fact that prove Trump is guilty of impeachable behavior is Comey encouraging Congress to commence impeachment proceedings? Where do you stand on this critical question Mr. Comey?
Comey did not defer to his Superiors' judgment in October 2016. Specifically-Loretta Lynch as AG and Sally Yates as deputy AG. Lynch may have had to recuse herself, but not Yates. That leaves me to believe Comey was sexist choosing his own judgment over that of a female superior.
Suppose Mueller shows that the Russian perverted the 2016 presidential election. That invalidates the Republican slate of Trump and Pence. The presidency then falls to Nancy Pelosi.
3
What I hope is that we will get an explanation from Mr Comey about why in 2011 Robert Mueller in his “ Iron Triangles” speech gave his prescient assessment of our serious risks from outside criminal oligarchs, yet Mr Comey was asleep at the wheel and let it all happen. And why did he remove Semion Mogilevich from the 10 Most Wanted List, where Mueller had correctly placed him? I do think Comey is a patriot, just a negligent one who needs to leave us alone already. He’s done enough damage.
I'm a Republican and no Trump supporter, but Mr Comey's actions were as reckless as anything Trump does daily. Giving that sleazy "Fusion dossier" federal credence, the shambolic last-minute Clinton emails announcement... This guy was a Director of the FBI? That's almost as bad as Trump being President.
1
Comey knew that Clinton broke the law, but he also believed that she would definitely win and being the NeverTrump kind of Republican, he also wanted her to win.
So to ensure that she had a clean record as the President, he in essence scolded her but also cleared her of any wrongdoing.
But then the unthinkable happened, she lost.
1
I am disgusted with Comey..the guy had to weigh in on Clinton and the emails before the election and now this. He needs to stay quiet and not say a word regarding any candidate in the next election.
I see that most of the comments here are against our President. People tend to forget he was duly elected. There’s is no way that Russians could have broken into the numerous voting places every county and parish in this country is independent and have their own system. Thinking that’s the case is stupid. Comey and all the unelected people in this scenario are going on their own belief. The American people have spoken but people like Comey and the fake media and that includes Fox have trashed him from day one. All we wanted was to give him a chance to do what he promised and so far he has not disappointed us. All we would like is FAIR reporting and let the chips fall where they may. News people shouldn’t give opinion. On every show with the exception of Brett Baer I can tell you if they are Democrat or Republican. We need more Brett’s. Face it President Trump will serve two terms so stop this constant attack on him....the real Americans don’t like it. I know nobody will ever see this but the one that makes that decision and that one now knows how I feel. Oh well, that is one.
@Terry Berry Oh, Terry, first, the Russians are not accused of casting fake ballots, but rather engaging in what they say was a very successful propaganda campaign against Clinton. They are also accused of hacking into Clinton campaign computers.
If, as you write, "the American people have spoken," then Clinton would be president, as she won the popular vote by more than 3-million votes. Think about that.
I wanted to give Trump a chance too, but seeing the group of liars, thieves and cons he surrounded himself with was an immediate red flag. As he assembled his cabinet, he brought in people with strangely close ties to Russia, people who bough into conspiracy theories, rather than showing critical thinking skills, and people who were tragically unprepared for their roles. Seeing how many of those people have left the WH in disgrace is ample proof.
And really, your final comment about "real Americans," who ARE these "real Americans," Terry Berry? People who support Trump? People who share your views? What a very unAmerican idea!
"I'm good enough, I'm smart enough, and doggone it, people like me."
3
Mr. Comey, please don't preach at us about how justice should be conducted and served when you inserted yourself into the presidential election and influenced it in such a way that helped get us into this mess! That is really rich.
1
I would have a lot more respect for the author of this column had he not purposely thrown Hillary Clinton the wolves by re-opening her investigation weeks before the election, all the while KNOWING that Trump had serious questions swirling around his loyalty to this country. Comey is trying to play the sage hero now. Aint buying it
1
“ The rule of law depends upon fair administration of justice… complete and unbiased investigation… relevant facts… the truth.”
And in addition, consider adding:
engaged, diverse people.
Representing ranges of relevant necessary disciplines.
Of people and systems who,
willingly,
are personally accountable.
For the implications and outcomes,
temporary as well as more permanent ones,
planned as well as not expected ones, of
their words and deeds;
amongst a civilly interacting,
law-abiding population-at-large.
Diverse, as well as similar,
in so many ways.
Actively dialoguing.
As needed.
Manifesting mutual trust.
Respect. Caringnes and mutual help;
when and if needed,
for “the other,” as each of US
monitors human and judicial flaws and
reality’s ongoing changes.
Responding by efforts,
our own, and with others, to
make a Difference that contributes to making a
Needed, sustainable Difference.
Realities for menschlich laws
for equitable wellBEing.
Beyond Law and Order.
Anchoring and empowering the
necessary rules of ethical law,
while successfully confronting
interfering-stakeholder-agendaed
faux-lawful “ethics!”
I was disheartened by Comey’s words “I don’t care.”
While there may truly be things Comey doesn’t care about, it gave me pause to see those words in his writing.
Did he care about the ramifications of emails from a dead beat corrupt politician, husband of candidate’s campaign member, creepy guy?
Maybe he shouldn’t have “cared” so much about that and should have just said then “I don’t care.” The original investigation was done. He should have left it alone.
It takes a lot of gall to write this article after we’ve suffered with Donald Trump for two years, who has taken this country to all time lows.
I feel sorry for people who will not live to the next election in 2020. They won’t be around to vote, Comey’s cure for caring about Mueller’s outcome. There are those that will have spent their last days watching the deterioration of morals and justice under Donald J. Trump. What a way to go out. Will James Comey care about that as much as Hillary’s emails that amounted legally to nothing but very possibly the corrupt overtake of our country?
1
Obviously the US justice system does NOT work--otherwise a narcissistic, lying, corrupt, unfit POTUS would not be sitting in the highest office in the world this very moment. Not to mention his grifter family who continue to snub their noses at everyone as has been shown through their many conflicts of interest, their "private" email communications of classified information, their nepotistic security clearances even though they have lied on their disclosures, and their total sense of entitlement that they are beyond reproach and that laws and rules just don't apply to them. Their "let them eat cake" attitude is abhorrent and we can only hope that what "goes around, comes around".
1
What makes you think Trump or “a significant portion of this country” will accept an electoral defeat?
1
I am far from being a Trump fan, but I think Dir. Comey is too sanctimonious for my taste. He will never be able to rationalize his ham-handed handling of the Hillary email investigation. He has made all the excuses but I do not buy it. I think he is too full of himself and thinks himself above ordinary folks. He is not (except he is taller than most folks).
Sure he is entitled to a place to voice his opinions, but I, for one, do not care what this moralizing fool says.
Mr Comey inserted himself into the middle of an election to take down Ms Clinton because he could not keep his own department from acting in a partisan manner.
Mr Comey is not a hero. He is a self-promoting hypocrite who failed to put justice above politics.
The problems of Justice are one he created. It is time for him to crawl in a hole and think upon his sins.
1
Comey's "bad judgment" was relevant to somebody else's bad judgment -- Hillary Clinton's email situation. The damaging difference between the two was the critical timing of Comey's.
Mr. Comey writes that “Trump is a chronic liar who repeatedly attacks the rule of law”. It sounds like he thinks Trump is guilty.
Rule of law? Don't make me laugh. When Hillary lied to Congress and said all of her emails were archived at State, she was lying. She should have been charged.
When she was subpoenaed for those same emails, she proceeded to smash phones, bleach bit her hard drive and basically tamper with evidence, destroy evidence, and obstruct justice.
There is nothing in the Espionage Act about intent, and where was the grand jury when all the "investigating" was going on.
Weiner's laptop, looking at less the 3% of the emails, you exonerated Clinton, even though, it was not your job.
Judicial Watch FOIAd those emails, and many were classified. Judge Lambert excoriated the state department for how they acted over turning over evidence. Yes, JW is doing the job , you and Lynch didn't do, bringing justice to Hillary.
Trump began discrediting the DOJ when the special investigation was initiated in 2017. He complained when AG Sessions recused himself, assuming Sessions was his personal attorney. He fired FBI Director Comey, admitting on TV it was because of the Russian investigation. Trump's numerous lawyers made an odd claims beginning with how the Trump campaign had no Russian contacts and didn't collude with Russians , ending with Giuliani claiming collusion is not a crime.
Donald J. Trump Sr. has shown himself to be a cheat, con artist and liar numerous times both as president and a business person. Countless business venture bankruptcies and lawsuits ending in negotiated settlements show Trump's a weak and disreputable business person. Since the start of his 2016 campaign, Trump's bullying and depravity knows no limits. His physical demeanor, notably his speech, makes many question his mental competence.
The Mueller investigation is likely to mirror most of these legacy traits America already knows. Americans are entitled to learn what Robert Mueller's investigation uncovered in dark corners where the light of justice shined. Obviously Trump will disparage and spin anything unflattering but the report must be released unabridged for all to read.
Regardless of political affiliation, We The People are voters and tax payers who deserve governmental transparency. Trump has tried damaging our democracy but we will weather him as we did with Nixon the lying crook.
1
“ The rule of law depends upon fair administration of justice… complete and unbiased investigation… relevant facts… the truth.”
A point of view.
And in addition, consider adding:
engaged, diverse people.
Representing ranges of relevant necessary disciplines.
Of people and systems who,
willingly,
are personally accountable.
For the implications and outcomes,
temporary as well as more permanent ones,
planned as well as not expected ones, of
their words and deeds;
amongst a civilly interacting,
law-abiding population-at-large.
Diverse, as well as similar,
in so many ways.
Actively dialoguing.
As, and when, needed.
Manifesting mutual trust.
Respect. Caringnes and mutual help;
when and if needed,
for “the other,” as each of US
monitors human and judicial flaws and
reality’s ongoing changes.
Responding by efforts,
our own, and with others, to
make a Difference that contributes to making a
Needed, sustainable Difference.
Realities for menschlich laws
for equitable wellBEing.
Beyond Law and Order.
Anchoring and empowering the
necessary rules of ethical law,
while successfully confronting
interfering-stakeholder-agendaed
faux-lawful “ethics!”
Why do so many think of the FBI as some pure and ethical organization. This is a bureaucracy and all bureaucracies are corrupt. The FBI was fashioned by J Edgar, one of the most corrupt bureaucrats in our history. Was it JEdgar himself doing the illegal wire taps on MLK, or the president, or many other politicians he blackmailed? No, it was hundreds of other corrupt FBIers willing to do his bidding. Comey is just another corrupt bureacrat. I would love to see an independent coucel appointed to look into the FBI.
This guy is one confused person. "Trump is morally unfit for office " But he doesn't want him impeached. Doesn't care if he's a criminal. Just wants Mueller to finish his work. Honestly I don't care what Comey wants. Maybe Mueller will conclude that your a criminal who more than anyone helped put this "unfit" man in office. Emails Emails Emails ... and not once did the FBI say Trump was under investigation which he was. Comey is just as bad as the Russians, if not worse. Go away ... please .....
The Mueller Report will not be complete unless it contains copies of his recent taxes, x-rays of his bone spurs, hair samples establishing the precise chemical chemical of his wig, a copy of his prenup agreement with Melania, his SAT score, his Montreal Cognitive Assessment score (the authentic one) and a full accounting of all violations of the Mann Act that have occurred in his personal residences, golf clubs and hotel rooms during the past ten years.
1
I read the article, then read some comments. I also read how Trump trashes an American hero like John McCain and how the GOP and the so called Conservative Right go along with him. The word Deplorable fits well. What American behaves like this? Maybe not an American at all, maybe just lemmings that follow Putin's manipulative directions.
I agree with Comey fairness should prevail. But how was it fair to Hillary when Comey prematurely announced the reopening of the email investigation; while staying mum on the Russian investigation. And how is it fair for him to decide to jail Martha Stewart for lying about insider trading, while POTUS lies on the regular.
1
He hope that justice is done and the investigation not interrupt, let it finish and truth be present to the public, but he hope a probable fact not be follow up, he hope the impeachment not be done because the so-calls civilised law abiding Americans as we told million times, will now disintegrate to tribalism violence and civil war.
Writes the man who took a hatchet to the Hatch Act and thereby greatly aided in putting the country in this crisis.
Dear Comey et al.,
Very good piece. I almost agree with you, hiding out here in France as I am. Here we have the neoliberalism of Macron taken to task by the gilet jaunes , which is a far cry from being ruled over by, and watching the “pitre” ( BUFFOON!” ) Trump everyday everywhere — as an official in visas here described him. A far cry from feeling the very earth crumble beneath one with one more criminal act, one more outrage.
So, I do hope for an impeachment. I think it injured Clinton, and I want to injure and ruin Trump. I want him not to bob up and afflict the public again. I want him gone, hopefully behind bars. It’s no small feat of awfulness that he has accomplished and I think the morally sentient beings should make their case and follow through. The reason I’d cite most strongly is the danger, the danger of letting him remain with his access to any sort of power.
So, even if Americans’ worst fears would be confirmed in Mr. Mueller‘s report, that Mr. Trump and his inner circle knowingly and willfully conspired with an adversary foreign government to attain the presidency, impeachment would simply be “too divisive” to pursue and allowing a what would then be an un-indicted veritable traitor to our county to continue to hold the highest office with access to the nuclear “football” would be preferable?
How could Mr. Comey possibly arrive at this preposterous and dangerous conclusion? It seems to me the safest course of action in this case, no doubt constituting the gravest internal threat to the stability of the Republic since the Civil War, would be to impeach, convict, and usher the traitor to the Supermax prison in Colorado as swiftly as possible.
That said I think it’s unlikely this worst case scenario will define the Special Counsel’s report, but it is nonetheless troubling that Mr. Comey would advocate the position to not impeach knowing full well that it’s possible the report could reveal such historically unprecedented and gravely damning news.
And about the election, it seems to me it can only be what Comey wants if he becomes a candidate for the Democratic nomination and wins kit. And perhaps he could. If he doesn’t we will have to choose between a chronic liar and an abettor of thieves.
No man is above the law. A guiding principle that must be enforced. It can be enforced against a president while he is in office, or after he leaves office by indictment and criminal trial.
This president campaigned promising to surround him with the best minds, the best generals. Look at what havoc he's caused by corrupt appointees, closest advisers, indicted and convicted.
Tweets galore, vicious towards anyone who disagrees with him, who he labels as an enemy of the people who could be targeted by right wing fascists.
There is an aura of mental instability, perhaps leading to a future defense in a criminal trial of a form of insanity.
I’m rooting Mr. Comey is indicted for lying to Congress and leaking to the press.
Please go away.
1
The fact that Mr. Comey is no longer the head of the FBI demonstrated the U.S. justice system works.
I wonder why comey - who cares about he fbi and the truth and the country isn’t penning articles about Andrew McCabe? He repeatedly “lacked candor” ( lied) wrote a book to profit off his lies and remains uncharged despite independent office of inspector general had no doubt he’s a liar. But the left and comey only care about particular liars. The other ones they’re content to watch free to watch their bank accounts grow.
We’ve gone from Russia collusion to Stormy Daniels- and all the highly principled people are only focused on getting Trump for anything.
Justice? They’re not interested in justice. It’s more about proving how they “knew” he’s a corrupt bad guy. And Elijah Cummings and Adam Schiff will coach Cohen to say exactly that.
1
I am in the middle of my second reading of Mr. Comey’s book and grateful for his gravity and his depth in his Service to our precious Land. As an average Minnesota American,I am chronically appalled that we, the People , are being “Led” by
D. T. Trump’s Sociopathic Ego. At 82, I’m thankful to be “beyond
it”, but fearful for our Children. “A Higher Loyalty” is a perfect
Title....and a masterful expression by a truly “Tall Man”.
1
Comey is correct except in on factor: Dumbo Donnie will never ever understand or acknowledge that the Special Counsel conducted the investigation in an objective, fair, and legally correct manner-regardless of the result. He will proclaim, if no wrongdoing on his part is found, that it was a witchunt and that taxpayer dollars were wasted.
This is a man who is just totally and completely ignorant of the how the justice system works. Why? Because he has sought to abuse the system his entire life. Only now has he met resistance from this system-finding that it is bigger than he is.
Frankly, I do hope Mueller finds Donnie complicit in all sorts of the things. And, I do hope, that rather than impeachment, he loses big in 2020. Because that will be the fever has broken in this nation and people have come to their senses.
Should Mueller be allowed to provide an OP-ED style commentary on the findings of his investigation?
Comey had no problem maligning Clinton’s character as an addendum to his conclusion of “no crimes committed”
Sorry- don’t need a lecture about how the justice system should work from the hypocrite who used it as a pulpit to denounce a candidate.
I’ve read some hollow editorials in my time, but this one takes the cake.
Comey, we need to move on without you.
You put Trump into power and it is long past time you owned up to it.
Now go take a walk and never be heard from again.
ENABLERS. That is why this report matters.
They are the villains.
The GOP Senators are using Mr. Trump to get Supreme Court picks, tax reform for billionaires, and deregulation of anything that controls their profits.
The GOP Senators tolerate lies, cruelty, attacks on distinguished veterans, and wait for it..autographing a Bible...and hundreds of other actions that if Mr. Obama or probably Mr. Bush or other president did they'd go ballistic.
The GOP Senators have souls their souls, their states, and their constituents out for slimy coattails and fear of tweets.
The president's despicable actions daily are an embarrassment. Every Senator knows that.
The Mueller Report will validate the presidents mobster-like ties and actions and the mobsters he's hired and fired and surrounds himself.
Mr. GOP Senator, what YOUR silence and blindness are supporting will be exposed. If you did your job we wouldn't need the investigation.
Mr. Comey, the 2020 Senate elections will be the litmus test of what America wants in government.
1
James Comey’s tenure at the FBI will go down as on of the worst in history for many reasons. The farther Mr. Comey is in the rear-view mirror the better.
If there were world-class justice in this country, you would have been censured and shunned- maybe investigated and indited- for your own part in undermining the free election of President in 2016, purposefully violating DOJ policy, and allowing the current President to take office.
You are a walking poster child for the damage that can be causes by an (un?) witting agent for a hostile foreign power as well as your own ego, to the detriment of a Constitution you swore to defend and uphold.
You are, cleverly, taking full advantage of Democrats' need for you as a witness against a greater evil; and hopefully you sink away into obscurity since we know you won't ever be held accountable since DOJ a world-class reputation of offering impunity to its own oathbreakers and conspirators like Jeff Sessions, Peter Strzok, and the NY FBI field office.
Here's my hope: I hope Mueller comes down like a sledge hammer, issuing indictments as he sees fit according to the law. Not some policy. The law. Period. If Barr wants to challenge such a move, he should have at it. Indictments can't be buried, sealed maybe, but not forever. The truth will out
1
It's long past time for James Comey to zip it.
After 3 years of constant inclusion by delusional induction "straining" in my personal account is being used as a distractionary tactic; buying sun stock and the inclusion of gang affiliated ignorance of average citizens that Donald Trump is absolutely a thief and a murder by proxy in that order. My professional opinion based upon a non proximal like event resembling an MKUltra documentary that mind control toxins and induction therapy utilizing a forgotten technology from 1985 that I have been in the middle of the deluge itself surfing on a plank length of a chance to survive. With enough investigation I'm extensively positive that even my personal account and damages can be proven. Google, Microsoft, Tesla, Pfizer, the FCC, EULA and all including Apache 2.0 beneficiary Matthew Lee Spillers (and I can prove this as well considering my mother's last name is Halcomb according to a marriage certificate) 'if I am wrong then so be- regardless of the fact of the things that I've gone through over the past 5 years have had way too much consistency and synchrony pertaining to individual details like names and places.
I read this and have no idea what this person said. That being said this is consistent with the way our so called savior has been since he has been in the public eye. The usual prattle from someone who has been at the center of abusing power and is now upset because he is on the outside. No a coherent thought in this commentary.
Sorry Mr Comey, nobody asked you for your opinion. Not before the last election, and not now. Let the facts show what they show - House democrats will do whatever's appropriate. Trump will get the same consideration any other criminal president received.
1
So, if we can all just get behind rejecting lies and gangsterism, we’ll be A-OK. I guess that means Comey concludes that an universal rejection of white supremacy, misogyny, ignorance, incompetence, xenophobia, treason, nepotism, corruption, self-dealing, etc., ain’t gonna happen. I don’t disagree. But it’s telling that Comey worries more about “farther” alienating a “significant portion” of Americans more than, say, “fulfilling the will” of a more significant “majority” of Americans. And isn’t that really the problem—that white rural Americans fundamentally expect to be treated like the belle of the ball—and are—so that they don’t have to make the slightest effort to come to the “common center” themselves, and stand on the fringe and insist that only their values and experiences are "real" and so should constitute True North for the great majority of Americans? For this overweaning sense of entitlement we have to tolerate the greatest conman in American history? Comey is nothing if not a moral hypocrite if he does not believe that impeachment itself couldn’t have a moralizing effect on the country far greater than handing out passes. And to suggest that the House should be cowed by the specter of disgruntled conspiracy-crazed white folks is a nice try, FBI. Besides, didn't Cohen suggest it could take a coup to remove Trump from office, anyway? It seems we crossed some kind of event-horizon when we elected the ultimate cynic for president. So be it. Let the impeachment begin.
After Comey's unnecessary pronouncement on Hillary's emails days before the election, he's the last guy anyone wants to hear pontificate about Trump being morally unfit for office.
Take your ball and go home,sir.
Isn't obstruction of justice grounds for impeachment? Let it be written, let it be done.
It's an uncomfortable fact that that vast majority who still support Trump also believed against all evidence that Barack Obama was secretly Kenyan, not American. A decent chunk further believed Hillary Clinton ran a child sex ring from the basement of a pizzeria. Like the pizzeria, there is no basement to the depths these Americans will stoop to ignore readily available facts and embrace fairytales that cast themselves as the True Americans and the rest of us as traitors.
So let's be clear: If Trump were to be defeated at the ballot box next year, he will undoubtedly lead millions of his cult following down the Pied Piper path of yet another set of lies – that the election was stolen and he is the Great White Male Victim. Then we'll all suffer through yet another presidency being deemed illegitimate in the eyes of a minority.
Indict him. Impeach him. Twenty-fifth Amendment him, for all I care. Trump wasn't deserving of being on the ballot last time around and we certainly shouldn't give him more opportunity to pollute our discourse with his toxic stew of grandiosity and self-pity.
Yes, Mr. Comey, we need a restoration of faith in the rule of law. But we just as urgently need a restoration of the sanctity – and meaningfulness – of our elections. Push the Trump sideshow off to courts and the National Enquirer and allow 2020 to be an election between competing ideas for uniting and progressing our once great nation, not another TV circus that debases the very idea of truth.
1
Comey is a disgrace to law enforcment and our entire justice system. You would have to blind in the sense that our govt was attempting to control the outcome of the election. Not the Russians! I’m both saddened and sickened by this election, one that the media attempted to control the simple minded voter and two that the justice Dept is so pervers in scandal that the clintons are still not charged with a bounty of crime that they have perpetrated, that’s all
I deign to differ. I wanna see President Petulant's taxes and bone spurs.
This from a die-hard, life-long Republican who, perhaps with the intention of preserving his job (and, of course, we all know how that turned out), did more than anyone else in this country to elect the misnomer now occupying the WH.
Comey is perhaps best suited for a post within the close circle of 45, where moral lunacy and misjudgment reigns.
Let Trump finish his term, then go after him and his family of crooks. Make all of them accountable for their criminal actions.
Of course that means people need to actually vote...
1
There is no Russian collusion.
There is no Russian collusion.
Let’s say it again: there is no Russian collusion.
Despite the howls and moans of the mainstream media about Trump being a russian agent, everyone now has all but accepted that there will be no “bombshells” in this very tedious Mueller Investigation.
For two years, the espresso-drinking, upper west side living, New Yorker-reading, Amalfi-coast-vacationing (Rome is too obvious), upper middle class elites have wasted tremendous amounts of breath at their dinner parties trying to outdo each other with their immensely jejune Trump conspiracy theories.
This whole investigation will be regarded in posterity as the McCarthyism of our times. And the “smart people” have been exposed for what they really are: not so smart at all. But of course that won’t stop them from continuing to sneer at us, call us deplorable, regard us as troglodytes, Neanderthals, and gorillas, etcetra, etcetera.
Mr. Comey, perhaps you should just fade into the background.
Each time you pen one of these brown bags of "personal reflection", nothing good seems to happen.
It is truly amazing that you rose to such levels of power over the lives of others.
I want to see Trump impeached. He's a danger to the world.
2
Hear hear, Mr Comey! Thank you for your considered approach.
“It is deeply concerning that the president of the United States would try to protect himself by torching the institutions of justice.”
Don’t flatter yourself Mr. Comey. Under your leadership the FBI ceased to be an ‘institution of justice’.
1
While Hillary Clinton shares a significant blame for her loss in the 2016 electoral college elections, the single most contributing person who is responsible for the current state of despair that the world is at, James Comey preaches AT the world that the "Justice" system.
They will try to sell you anything! As long as you will buy fluff!
1
How does it feel, Mr Comey, to know you played an outsized role in electing this conman? Your disastrous break with longstanding protocol by announcing a "new" investigation into Clinton emails mere days before the election was the final straw in the propaganda campaign against our most qualified candidate.
Try as you might, you will never erase that from your legacy.
1
How about just seeing it.l.l..that’s what I want!
Where is it? Does it exist? Why has it taken years? Why won’t they give an approx time to release it?
You know why.....because Mueller has NOTHiNG, which is our biggest fear.
He.
Has.
Nothing.
There goes foot-in-his-mouth comey yet again. Time to get off the stage, old boy. Promoting the idea that America should not do the right thing lest putin's puppets call it a coup? Exit left.
Would somebody PLEASE yank the scratchy megaphone out of the hands of this imitation-stoic self-aggrandizer?
Dear Mr. Comey:
Days before you were fired, then Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein wrote a letter that documented very good grounds for your firing. You have an obvious personal interest to argue that the "real reason" for your firing was something other than the grounds that Rod Rosenstein listed. But that doesn't change the fact that you deserved to be fired and the country is better off because you are no longer director of the FBI.
James Comey reminds me of Anthony. "I come to bury Trump, not praise him."
Rebuttal: Why No One Cares What You Want From the Mueller Report.
1
Trump and the Republican Party is like the old Soviet Union. Both of them live in fears and promote fears.
Any black swan event happens, the dominal effect will trigger a total and speedy collapse.
1
all nodding your heads in furious agreement -- Trump has to go! Why? what's he actually DONE that's so ad? Can anyone enumerate his 'crimes'?
What I want is for gross negligence to be taken seriously as an intent standard by FBI investigators seeking to enforce 18 USC sec. 793(f).
Regardless of what you think about Mr. Comey and how he may have impacted Clinton’s chances to win the presidency ... this piece is well reasoned and important to understand. Particularly for those who are hell bent on impeaching Trump. Unless that movement is resoundingly bipartisan and supported by main stream media of all persuasions (namely Fox News) then much of middle America will be outraged by the spectacle of the debacle that takes place in Washington. They have been prepped by their media and their leaders for their entire lives to take up their arms and commit acts of civil disobedience if they believe the system has been rigged to prevent them from getting their way. That is the powder keg that America is sitting on at this point in time whether it wants to admit it or not and Comey is a brave man to endeavour to point it out.
1
"I am rooting for a demonstration to the world — and maybe most of all to our president and his enablers — that the United States has a justice system that works ..."
You and me both, bro ...
I think the idea that American justice is fair flew out the window when you personally helped Donald Trump get elected.
Or maybe when Donald Trump stiffed thousands of contractors for decades and got away with it, because he could afford more lawyers?
Or maybe when Trump has spent over two years in office despite repeated violations of the Emoluments clause?
Or maybe when Trump got away with obstruction of justice by firing you, among others? Or does your memory not go that far back?
Let's face it, the last two years have proven only one thing about the American justice system - that the rule of law only works if people are willing to enforce the law. Given that the corrupt (and, let's face it, traitorous) Republican party has refused to enforce the law with Trump and have aided and abetted his crimes, we can only conclude that the rule of law does not apply to Donald Trump.
But by all means, let's not rush to judgement. Thanks for helping hollow out our democracy, Mr. Comey. It was nice while it lasted.
2
Mr. Comey is right that as an ideal, we should have no “hope” regarding the substance and direction of the Mueller report but should merely hope that the report is based upon facts and law and is simply correct. Presumably, Mr. Comey was compelled to remind us of this as pundits and thousands of Twitter users appear to be engaging in the polar opposite approach of placing all of their hopes and dreams in the idea that super hero Bob Mueller will single handedly take Trump out. There is likely to be mass disappointment and confusion when the special counsel concludes his investigation, following months of pure speculation and obsession about the process. Just as the 2016 election was covered like a horse race, the special counsel and the President have been pitted against each other with bets placed as we approach a mythical finish line. As much as I appreciate Mr. Comedy’s measured and cautious analysis, I am skeptical that those who would most benefit from it possess the capacity to receive and process the message.
It is precisely this black and white logic of James Comey, that contributed to his bad decision to hide his team’s investigstion of Trump, but expose Hillary. I get his notion that we should stick to the American way, which is really rule by laws, not rule of law. Unfortunately those laws are so jumbled by convoluted interpretations, that it is impossible to have decent outcomes. As long as people are in the mix, the rule of law is untenable. People are corruptible. On the other hand it is admirable that Mr. Comey wants only one outcome, that the truth is revealed, regardless of whether a criminal like Trump is prosecuted. At least Comey’s thinking is clear, black and white, technically correct. . . if not very aware of the messiness of human beings.
There are clearly two things going on here - whether a criminal employee should keep his job and if said employee should be prosecuted for his crimes. Let us proceed on both of these paths as quickly as possible as the stakes involved are rather high. Rule of law will lead us to the proper outcome if we are all willing to live up to our constitutional obligations.
4
Mr. Comey’s argument is that the most important possible result of Mr. Mueller’s investigations is the demonstration of the validity of our Constitution and the principle of the Rule of Law.
Whether or not Mr. Trump is impeached, or whether or not he is able to remain in office, the whole world is watching the United States of America, waiting to see whether “this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people,
shall not perish from the earth.”
Long ago, though not so very long ago, World War II concluded with much of our planet wrecked, ruined, despoiled. The United States of America was left essentially untouched, and we essentially helped the world rebuild. The Marshall Plan, rehabilitated friend and foe alike; the Berlin Airlift, peacefully defeated Soviet Russia’s attempt to strangle Berlin; many other actions our nation took to heal the world, all led to the golden reputation and hope many nations and many people and peoples felt towards us.
Over the intervening years, though, greed, hatred, racism, and unregulated capitalism have dimmed Liberty’s radiant light. Mr. Trump and the Republican Party mentality now beg us to get off our couches, get off our knees, stand up, demand that our Nation rise to its highest ideals, and that we again provide a beacon of Hope and Promise to the world.
It’s ironic, but maybe Donald Trump could prove to be the one person who could Make America Great, Again!
1
"charge whatever cases warrant charging and report on his work."
That's just the problem isn't it Mr. Comey? Throughout the investigation, it has been accepted that the president can't be charged with crimes even if the crimes are why he is president.
So cases warranting charges are not going to be charged. As a result the FBI isn't going to comment on people not charged which means there won't be a full report on Mueller's work.
The whitewash began when everyone decided a president can't be charged because of a guideline made to show a vice-president can be charged.
3
"Because if Mr. Trump were removed from office by Congress, a significant portion of this country would see this as a coup, and it would drive those people farther from the common center of American life, more deeply fracturing our country." Mr. Comey, what about the significant portion of the country that believes that it was a coup that put Trump in office? I hate to inform you but the country is already deeply fractured and 'the center' has been so damaged by Trump, the far right, the alt right, the Russians and enabler Republican politicians that it is hard to imagine it any worse. We are broken, and rule of law is not prevailing. Mr Trump has committed known crimes, and the legal system has thus far not done anything!
Mr. Comey you bravely stood up to Trump before. Don't back down now uing behind a guise of reasonableness. Too late for that. The clock is ticking and every day, hour and minute this unchecked criminal is in office damages us, our democracy, our way of life.
6
If you can’t imagine things getting any worse, you really aren’t imagining much. We live in relative peace and prosperity. It could always be better, but don’t kid yourselves; it can get a great deal worse.
Hear, hear, Mr. Comey. Normally, I would not waste the space and everyone's time to write a simple comment of full support. But your statements so completely align with my beliefs that, especially in this age of desperate division and anxiety, I must acclaim them.
You are a man of integrity and we Americans are very fortunate to have had your dedication and service to our country.
Thank you
3
Upon reading this literary malignancy, I am reminded of a courage-less baby crying and clamoring for his baby bottle of attention.
The public interest would best be served if Mr. Comey would fully immerse himself in his post-FBI life and REFRAIN from commentary, or at least learn how to muster political courage and sensibility.
For sure, sales receipts for his book are down...
3
If only Mr. Comey wanted to make sure our justice system worked when he was in charge of it. Instead, he decided to violate norms & precedence which in turn helped put our country in the situation we now find ourselves in.
4
It has been said that a half truth is a whole lie. The motivation of the lie is only important once we find out that we have been lied to. So, Mr. Comey, when you were in your last position of government service, you provided a lot of limited truth, was that due to malevolence or error in judgment? The motivations of the people who have succeeded you are even more suspect than you, with regard to limited truth. The country continues to wait for Mr. Mueller's report which the media is presenting as a secret document, the contents of which, Mr. Barr will determine how much of to reveal. The attitude is reminiscent of Col. Jessup, who thinks that the country can't handle the truth. You and whomever determines what truth we can handle, effectively undermines the genuineness of our democratic process. There is little doubt that Mr. Trump is operating his administration like a crime family. He lies, manipulates, bribes, makes pay offs and traffics in conflict and chaos for his own benefit to the detriment of his party, the country and international stability. Your comments today hoping for a moderate and due process which would avoid impeachment is inconsistent with your previous appraisal of DJT. You have compared him to a the boss of a mafia crime family and described him as "unethical" and "untethered to the truth." Your fear that the American people can't tolerate an impeachment comes from the same arrogance that thinks we can't handle the truth.
5
We were invaded by a hostile foreign power. I want a little more than platitudes. I want to know exactly what happened and who did it. Articles like this confirm to me why Comey should have been fired, even if what did transpire in his case was the right move by the wrong person and for the wrong reason.
3
It can be expected that what will flow from the Mueller investigation will be more of the same: indictments for pseudo-crimes like lying to the FBI and obstruction of justice. And indictments for unrelated crimes like tax evasion.
Neither of those will convince the Republicans to support impeachment. Everyone knew before the elections that Trump was a rather shady businessman who likely wasn't exactly straight with his taxes either. But the results of a politically motivated investigation of his finances will most likely only convince his supporters that he is treated unfair.
So unlike Mueller brings something really shocking that convinces both Republican representatives and their voters impeachment won't happen. Efforts in that direction will have the same effects as those in the past: they will keep Trump haters - who vote Democratic anyway - happy but they will only convince Trump supporters that the Democrats have nothing substantial to offer.
3
Wim,
Lying to the FBI is a crime, not a "pseudo-crime" as you describe it. Tax evasion as the result of criminality is also a crime. Sometimes criminals can only be charged with some of their crimes. Prosecutors charge criminals with the crimes that they can prove in court. That's the way our system works. It makes no sense to ignore the lesser crimes if the criminal can be successfully prosecuted for them.
3
@Wim Roffel: I cannot fathom the idiocies of people who want their chief tax collector to be tax cheat.
Hunh. Maybe there's a way for Mueller to drop his report like a nuclear bomb in the middle of the next Presidential election so that we can have Trump for another four years. Now, that would be something that Mr. Comey is at least demonstrably qualified to give advice on.
1
We don't always get what we want in a democracy. What citizens need is transparency, without jeopardizing the innocent or hindering further investigations. It is possible what is released to the public will tell us all we need to know about vulnerabilities that must be addressed in our current judicial, executive and legislative branches. Today's situation magnifies an unprecedented perfect storm in which corrupt, unethical and immoral individuals with undeserved, unearned power are dragging U.S. down a very slippery slope.
1
The rule of law depends upon fair administration of justice. . . . [S]o much of our national leadership has abandoned its commitment to truth and the rule of law.
These statements also apply to state government leadership. I wish someone in authority would investigate the Medical Board of California, which may well be one of the most corrupt state government agencies to ever have existed.
2
@David Lockmiller: The Trump coup d'etat is establishing a theocracy through the judiciary.
I would instead like to hear Mr. Comey's thoughts on the use of private emails, WhatsApp and a non-secured smart phone used by Trump, his daughter and son-in-law (a.k.a. White House advisors). On that subject, he can share how the public has a right to know about how egregious such "extreme carelessness" is to the point that holding Executive Branch office should be made impossible.
4
First of all, the American public needs to know what the Mueller says, i.e. the report should be made public.
Second, no president should be above the law. If a president commits crimes he should stand trial - even while he is in office. If convicted he should go the way all criminals go, and not be pardoned.
Only if all of this happens can we claim that our system of justice is not broken.
5
Mr. Comey should keep his thoughts about the unfitness of the current occupant of the White House to himself. He is the cause, by large measure, of his being elected. If he had followed the policy of not commenting on Hilary Clinton’s email investigation unless she was charged with a crime, Trump wouldn’t be plunging this country into chaos.
He inflicted further damage to the Clinton campaign by announcing the reopening of the investigation ten days before Election Day with no idea if the information found therein was damaging. That was the last nail in the coffin in her chance of election.
Mr. Comey should slink back into enjoying the royalties from his self-serving book to justify the mess he created and hope that history won’t shine the light on being Donald Trump’s most valuable contributor to his election.
4
Mr. Comey states that we are a nation of laws and no one is above the law, but then contradicts himself by saying that Trump should not be indicted or impeached if the Mueller reports finds that he has committed crimes. Trump is not above the law, he should be immediately arrested and tried, like anyone else, if he has committed crimes.
4
It seems odd that Comey wants us to understand that the justice system works --- unless of course justice includes impeachment. Then justice doesn't work because some would see impeachment as a coup. So basically he's saying that justice in Trump's case must be curtailed for political reasons. I don't feel reassured hearing that.
6
The U.S. system does not work. Judge Ellis, Kavanaugh, DACA, and so many other example exist. Whole classes of people, particularly those of color and women, know it does not work. Hate it but there is a more important issue.
What is more important? National security is threatened by Trump and the GOP behaviors. This includes the denial of climate change, failure to plan meaningfully and diminish our contribution to accelerating change. The Constitution says incompetence is grounds for removal and that removal would justify the world's faith in us.
5
@poslug. Wrong. National security is threatened by the Democrats and liberal snd progressive judges. Cases in point...”no national emergency at the border;” “banish the electoral vote;” “closed borders are immoral;” change the voting to 16;” “ballot harvesting is legal;”...our national security has already been threatened by the vicious democrats and judicial liberals who only believe in the “rule of law” as they see it.
judges who interpret
1
I find it ironic that Comey extols the virtues of an apolitical investigation and immediately follows it with a political calculation regarding impeachment. He seems forever trying to claim impartiality while acting with political motives.
7
Pitch perfect Mr. Comey. Never ever lose one's idealism. Our country needs to restore it as well.
We can all hope that Trump will lose the next election.But it seems a very weak reed given the scale and scope of his illegal activities, his militant ' base' and the divided nature of the electorate. If elections are the only tool for dealing with a person who has so egregiously broken the rules, the US system is truly in need of reform.
3
@T.R.Devlin. What are his illegal activities?
Besides the Mueller report and the multiple ongoing investigations in Washington and New York regarding indictable crimes—
It seems the Congress should also weigh the colossal and staggering damage Trump has done to the United States, as a rationale and justification for impeachment and removal from office.
4
The main thing that is illuminated here, is Mr Comey's apparent, continued inability to accept and play by the traditional 'rules of the game'. His readiness to forego impeachment as a remedy, is further indication that he is still comfortable placing a finger on the scale, based on his personal, transient grasp of how things ought to be. I am not encumbered by any doubt, that Mr Comey was simply an honourable public servant who made a genuine mistake. As human beings, we are prone to make those. Unfortunately, the consequences of his error have turned out to be dire. Thankfully though, his original debatable choice did not prevent him from independently recognizing that his game changing decision had produced unintended consequences. And that thrust him in the middle of a national dilemma for which he shouldered some responsibility. I honor him and those devoted public servants in the FBI who quickly recognized that the new occupant of the White House was definitely not encumbered by any studied consideration of the traditional rules of the game either, not then, not now.
3
I disagree with those readers who blame Comey for Hillary Clinton's loss. I traveled through 6 mid-western states in late summer 2016. I could count on 1 hand the number of Clinton signs while the number of Trump signs were numerous & widespread. She was a candidate with a lifelong taint from the GOP, who was disliked by many voters, many of whom are low-information, Fox Propaganda watchers.
In response to Comey's last sentence, a resounding, "No." We as a country are not up to it.
4
Comey's thoughts are really pretty meaningless and much of what he says(but not all) is what many already think. He may be measured in his comments, but this is meaningless at this point in time in our history. I will trust Mueller to get it right-whatever that is- and if deserved then impeachment, or indictment after leaving office-or whatever is right thing to do.
4
Mr. Comey thinks that once DJT is voted out of office everything will be rosy again. However, Trump will never go quietly into a post-presidential retirement. His ex-attorney Michael Cohen has already warned us that he has no intention of willingly giving up power. His people in government and the media will continue to assert that he is the rightful leader of the world no matter what the election results say. Trump needs to be exposed as an anti-Democratic wanna-be dictator. The GOP needs to spend decades in the political wilderness for their support of this man. Many people will have to pay dearly for us to get back to normal.
13
I basically agree with everything Mr Comey said, including the effects of impeachment, but I wish he had framed this correctly. It is critical to remember that this investigation did NOT start out as an investigation of Mr Trump. It was an investigation into Russia's interference in the US election. It was Mr Trump who, by his own very public actions, lies, and the repeated lies of his associates, some of them very close to him indeed, turned it into an investigation about Mr Trump. But it is still primarily a counter-intelligence investigation about Russia. The fact that Trump himself has turned out to be inextricable from that investigation speaks volumes.
6
"if Mr. Trump were removed from office by Congress, a significant portion of this country would see this as a coup,"
Mr. Comey is right, and this is precisely the scenario djt has been working on from the moment he was aware this investigation was going to happen: 'the witch hunt.'
Mr. Comey did mess up big time regarding the release of his investigation into any wrongdoing of Hillary Clinton. Anger and distrust permeated our nation. He will have to live with the fact that he handed over the 'checkmate' djt needed to clinch the election.
He will have to live with 'what if I had not done so "while we have two more years under the rule of a man who deems himself a "sovereign citizen" above the Constitutional Rule of Law.
5
I hear what Mr. Comey says. But I cannot agree that our nation can afford to wait until 2020 to vote President Trump out of office. I have the same concern as Michael Cohen and others that, if he loses the election, President Trump will not leave office willingly and will not allow a peaceful transition of power. And I am concerned about the damage that President Trump will continue to cause to our nation between now and 2020. The lasting harm he has already caused via political appointments of so many unqualified and extremist individuals to the courts and to other positions of authority throughout government alone may take decades to reverse. His repeal of so many laws and regulations that kept America safe and healthy, his antagonism toward our allies, his cozying-up with brutal dictators and tyrants, his generally inept and hawkish foreign policy, his even more inept economic and trade policies, his denial of science, his horrid immigration policies, his open, hateful racism and lack of appreciation for the diversity that was actually what made America great, and so, so many more acts which continue to undermine the strength and preparedness of our nation, and the rule of law, must be halted via appropriate due process as soon as possible. If Congress doesn't act appropriately and expediently, I fear there may be no 2020 election. And resistance to a would-be King will be easier now than later.
8
It makes me nervous to hear politicians backing away from impeachment. The bar for impeachment should be high, but if it is suddenly unreachable due to fears of a violent reaction or political repercussions, we will have lost a very valuable tool for keeping our presidents on the right side of the law and morality and the good of our country. Trump can do a lot of damage with a single tweet; imagine what he will do if he thinks Congress is too afraid to impeach him, as though he is too big to fail. The inmates will be running the asylum. No president, Republican, Democrat or otherwise, should be beyond impeachment.
7
Exactly. Those of us who think Trump is not fit to be President should prioritize replacing him in 2020 with someone who is.
There are a lot of excellent reasons not to impeach, besides Mr Comey's fear that 2/3 of the country would think it was a coup. (About 1/2 of us thought the installation of G W Bush by the Supreme Court was a coup too.)
1. Impeachment will not heal the country, just further divide it, as he says.
2. If impeachment is successful, Dems will have to run against Pence. Pence will easily win back all the disaffected Trump voters, which are a major source of swing votes that are needed to beat Trump. Additionally, if the Dems run a far-left candidate (as it increasingly looks like they will), most pf the rest of the swing voters will go to Trump, or stay home. If impeachment succeeds, the likelihood is that the Dems will lose in 2020.
3.If impeachment fails, it will rally support for Trump and become a campaign battle cry. It will further convince any GOP Congress members who are still willing to denounce or disagree with Trump that "resistance is futile". If impeachment fails, the likelihood is also that the Dems will lose in 2020.
Since there's no outcome of impeachment that bodes well for the Dems in 2020, it follows they should not impeach.
OTOH, running against a Trump weakened by the results of the Mueller report and the SDNY investigation, along with whatever Elijah Cummings and his committee unearth, can easily result in a Dem victory in 2020
8
@yogi-one
If they run Elizabeth Warren, she will destroy the not very bright compromised Pence. Why did Carrier move its factory and manual labor jobs to Mexico? Because Carrier gave Pence to a measly 7M in campaign funds, so he allowed the move. He was about to lose the next election, so he jumped on Trump's bandwagon. He is also an evangelical Christian who refused to fund treatment and prevention of HIV; Indiana then suffered an outbreak of HIV. We don't need Pence in the WH; he is as crooked as Trump, or McConnell, just much quieter.
1
James Comey sided with a candidate who was grossly unfit to be President. Now he has the audacity to lecture us about how to deal with the damage brought on by his own inappropriate behavior.
Make no mistake about it- Comey intentionally manipulated public opinion in Trump's favor in the run-up to the election. There was never any basis for charging Hillary with any crime. Comey knew this. But, as a lifelong Republican, he wanted the Republican candidate to win.
Hence, he deliberately thrust her E-mails into the forefront of the campaign less than 10 days before the election, at at time when Trump's hopes were sinking rapidly in response to the "Access Hollywood" tapes of him making disgusting comments about his treatment of women. It was irrelevant & prejudicial for him to cite her for poor judgment. He did this to sink her candidacy.
Shortly before the election, he made a deliberately misleading statement suggesting that Trump had not done anything seriously wrong. He did this despite ample evidence of serious crimes having been committed by Trump & many in his inner circle. He did this in order to bolster Trump's sagging hopes. It worked. It convinced enough wavering voters that Trump wasn't so bad that he became POTUS despite losing the popular vote buy a comfortable margin of almost 3 million votes.
Comey arguably bears more responsibility than any individual for this disastrous presidency. His comments must be interpreted with that in mind.
8
I certainly do not care if Mr. Trump be impeached or not unless he has shown pathological fixation on Ms Clinton, Mr. McCain, the popular vote winning, etc. when he could go on to a next stage as elected president. If he found a reason to persecute Kim Jong-un, which is now very likely, what would his response be? Would he be satisfied with inveighing him verbally? If he has chosen a military option (and I gather from an increased noise level over my head from the Yokota base the US military in Japan is preparing for this), can someone persuade him not to do?
3
You had me until the hope against impeachment. If the purpose of this op-ed is to stand up for our system of justice, for a fair hearing of the facts, and an apolitical assertion of our values, then why hope against impeachment? If the facts show our president to be a criminal or a traitor, there is no other just option, and it would be an abandonment of the principles and structure of our system not to impeach. We can only hope that the facts are not so dire as to necessitate that outcome.
6
The audacity of being lectured by the person who put Trump into office is truly amazing and sad to me. When will the electoral system be overhauled so that the voice of the people be recognized?
13
I have to side with the readers choices; Comey did so much damage he is never going to be able to sit in the seat of the righteous.
That said, I do hope that Mr Mueller does have good evidence that Russia polluted the elections, with or without Trump's aid, to make the election results invalid. That would make Trump an illegitimate POTUS. I do not know what the legal beagles will make of that but anything short makes this nightmare a never ending horror story.
7
I was one of the early people to sign Tom Steyer's impeachment petition in 2017. However Nancy Pelosi has a good approach to first gather information via the congressional investigations. It is a strategy based partly on schedule since impeachment would take two years. With the hearings, the impeachment is effectively happening without the formal declaration. There is also the political gamble that not formally impeaching increases the odds of a democratic win, i.e.: avoid the mistake the Republicans made with Bill Clinton. Not much will happen legislatively over the next two years. Pelosi will give Trump enough rope to hang himself.
I just hope the Trumps and the Kushners pay restitution for whatever crimes they committed. If Vicky Ward's new book is accurate, there were many.
7
Four Republicans, former Federal Prosecutors including Giuliani, Christie, Sessions, and Comey helped Trump win. Giuliani became Trump's personal attorney protected from subpoena as attorney to Trump. Sessions, a former Senator who likely shared inside campaign information with Republican colleagues in Congress was appointed Attorney General overseeing the Russia investigation he recused himself from. Christie is now somewhat obscure. Comey oversaw the F.B.I. Comey was fired in what is suspected as Obstruction of Justice. Republican and former F.B.I. Director Mueller then took the helm of the "Special Counsel" investigation under the watchful eye of Trump's Justice Department of which the Mueller investigation was focused.
So it condenses down to Republicans helping a Republican win power after which he is investigated by Republicans who are under a Republican Attorney General who answers to the Republican President Trump.
And now, the Republican former F.B.I. Director is actually arguing against impeaching Trump. Well, so am I.
If Trump is thoroughly investigated including his conduct with Congressional Republicans, we can not only win against Trump in the election, but the exposed Congressional Republicans who made him as well.
I believe that strategy might be called "Draining the Swamp".
That should either end or spark the Republican "Coup" which has been brewing even before Trump ran. It's remarkably convenient that the Dangerous Trump ran for President, isn't it?
3
I hope the investigation explains the full extent of Russian meddling in the Election and the elements of the campaign that deceived the public before they cast their vote but my real question, which the Washington establishment needs to answer is: since the intelligence community knew that there was a Russian influence campaign designed to elect Donald Trump and there were deliberate efforts by the campaign to cover up the character traits of the President, why was there not an action by Justice to question and possibly invalidate the election in the time period from Nov 7 to January 20.
It appeared that no court or committee had guts enough to confront the Trump organization with the allegations that were flowing after the election.
I can't think of many matters more important than the Election of the President of the United States and none of the officials of the Obama Administration or in the Congress raised the issue.
Talking about being asleep at the switch, I hope you will reveal more details about what was stirring in the hearts of the Justice Department and the NSA during this very long interim period between the election and the Inauguration.
What was holding you back? When did you know it and what actions did you take.
5
We cannot leave democracy to chance in 2020 in order to placate Trump's supporters. Look what happened in 2016. The author was ironically the very person who put DT in the oval office.
17
“Because if Mr. Trump were removed from office by Congress, a significant portion of this country would see this as a coup, and it would drive those people farther from the common center of American life, more deeply fracturing our country.”
I find this an astounding statement. So, Mr. Comey, we should ignore the other two-thirds of the electorate (aka the “majority”)? We should suffer a madman to continue his authoritarian rampage? We should stand by as he dishonors the terms of the Constitution? And Congress should fiddle while Rome burns.
24
I'm not a citizen of the US, and I have never supported Trump in any way, but I would have to agree with Mr. Comey on this matter.
Impeachment might work in the first year, but given how humongous the situation has escalated, I believe it is not the way anymore. Further attempts to pursue it could only result in 2 things: 1.) as Mr. Comey said: it could be considered as a coup, and they will see that the Dems are responsible for it, or 2.) Since the GOP still controls the senate, if it passes the house, then most likely it could become another Clinton situation: acquittal by the senate
Other than impeachment, the only way the US citizens could remove Trump from the oval office is by voting him out. There are very slim chances that he would be voted out early on in the primaries, and the only thing that could happen if there's a candidate more outrageous than he already is, which is a very very bad thing if you don't want another 4 years of having a child as commander-in-chief.
I wish the US the best of luck when it comes to this. Speaking as a foreigner, what the Trump administration did for the past couple of years has greatly affected us, and not in a good way.
4
Mr Comey I wonder if you realize that you are still letting Trump dictate the terms for justice. In 2016 you broke protocol by announcing the Clinton investigation with no criminal indictment while remaining silent on the Trump counterintelligence investigation. You created an injustice in a failed attempt to personally balance the scales. You did this because Trump lies and you were afraid of giving him ammunition. That was not your job. It is Congress job to provide oversight and if high crimes are committed to impeach. Every institution needs to do their job period. We can't stop doing the right thing because we are afraid of Trump and/or his base. We know where that leads. Just look at the GOP senators.
15
I don't agree with Comey and the hope that this president not be impeached....because the rapid right will consider it a coup.
If Trump lost the 2020 election, they would equally claim foul and essentially a coup.
The absolute best thing for the World and the United States if for our Constitution to come forth with our Justice Department and Congress to reiterate the check and balance I pray we are still capable of.
3
I have watched America devolve since Goldwater was the GOP nominee. I have watched the line in the sand move right for 55 years and watched as it picked up speed. I watched Scalia with his sophistry completely destroy the second amendment by removing all historical context and the Dictionary used to draft it. I hate violence and I hate war but America has sold its soul rather acknowledge that its politics was destroyed and compromise was impossible. I know what happened with the Missouri compromise. How much more of America's soul are you willing to give up before can no longer even draw a line in the sand?
How long before the Justice Department is Orwell's injustice department. How many Kavanaughs need sit on your judicial benches before justice has a fixed price? Is today's USA worth saving or is it please make an offer?
I cannot even imagine another civil war but Trump/GOP America may be more than many Americans can tolerate. The man sitting in the Oval Office with the nuclear trigger is incompetent and dangerous and you worry about a civil war?
26
@Woke
We are a satellite economy with virtually no power. When we complained about the abuses of the Saudi dictator newspapers round the world echoed Canada stands alone. We are committed to justice and yes we make mistakes. We have no other role to play other than take out and show other nations a yellow card. We can't even show a red card to the vile regimes supported by nations that have gone mad. Our children are as vulnerable as your children and when you choose to destroy your children's lives you destroy our children's future. We wish we could declare a time out and send you to a corner till your tantrum is complete but America is a danger to our civilization. I receive US Social Security, have US Medicare and pay US taxes and all Canadians pay a price for your dysfunction. Surely we have a right to yell put down the matches when we have no firewall between our house and yours.
1
Criminal misconduct uncovered by Mueller has been enforced by him and his staff in indictments, trials and convictions. Other times he fed "redacted evidence" to federal prosecutors (SDNY, etc.) and state criminal enforcers where convictions could not be upended by a presidential pardon.
It's obvious that Mueller has been looking at the big picture, and is not relying on impeachment. Impeachment is not bound be evidence, and is subject to political whims.
6
@V N Rajan
Mueller needs to give one copy to Congress and one copy to NY State Atty. Gen'l. Trump did not carry NYC or NY State.
Thank you Mr. Comey for your service to the nation.
I appreciate your notion of what impeachment might do to an already fragile society.
And I appreciate that an overwhelming election result is what is needed.
However, I'm afraid that for the hardcore Trump supporter, a losing election result is already rigged, and there is a conspiracy theory ready to be attached to it.
Facts, reason, sanity, even overwhelming election results are all out the window.
7
After Comey's interjection into the 2016 election, it's quite rich that he continues to lecture the US public on the virtues of the ballot. Comey already expressed that he feels the mechanism for removing Trump should be a presidential election; he did so repeatedly during his book tour and corresponding interviews—it was a part of his script. While not so shameless to be Trumpian, this editorial is nonetheless more preening than illuminating, much like the man that wrote it.
9
"I care only that the work be done, well and completely."
Don't know in detail about Mr Comey's work and actions going back to the illness and therefore incapacity of then AG John Ashcroft where Mr C among others at the Justice Department and FBI were asked by other members of the Bush Administration to take actions which they contended would violate their obligations as attorneys. Parenthetically, I agreed with their contention and refusal then.
Mr C has gone on to many other matters and positions since then and taken many actions some of which have drawn attention and contention. The relevance of his views at this time on these matters has been questioned in various media.
Be all that as it may, hard to see anyone taking exception to the broadest application of the goal he enunciated in the excerpt quoted above.
2
'take a moment from their busy lives to show that they are united by something even more important: ..'
I wonder how many of us say, 'the project report is due today; I couldn't possibly take the time out to vote today'.
Could't we declare a 'voting day' when all non-essential offices will closed and requiring people to show some indication that they have at least been to the voting booth?
4
This is about the clearest indication yet that there is nothing in the Mueller report and that raises the question of why such an expansive investigation was started in the first place.
8
@Aurthur Phleger
You assume Mueller has shared his information with Comey? He has no obligation to do that. He needs to report to Congress and to the NY State Atty. Gen'l. He will do that.
@Aurthur Phleger
That’s not what he’s saying. Suggest you reread the words “chronic liar” at the end.
"I am rooting for a demonstration to the world that the United States justice system works."
I am afraid that would be a very tall order, Mr. Comey. Setting aside the fact that Mr. Trump is the POTUS, just the fact that today he is walking around free as a bird is a clear indication that the US justice system does not work.
14
This column overlooks the additional damage Trump can inflict on our country in the time between now and 2020. Provisions for impeachment and/or removal from office through the 25th amendment are there for a reason.
17
As much as we would like to see a Nixon like moment, it will never happen in 2019 or 2020 because the GOP is not the same it was back in the days. The only way to bring back civility and normalcy in country is through the ballot in 2020.
7
I for one am stunned at how naive and simple-minded all of this sounds. Basically, let’s leave it to the voters. How quickly we forget that we tried that, the author quite specifically, in 2016 and it didn’t work.
And why leave it up to the voters? To somehow placate Trump’s base, who the author assumes won’t claim foul if Trump loses the election. Again, we already know that won’t happen because they claimed foul even after he won.
Trump has shown zero respect for institutions and democratic processes. The Mueller report is the single best opportunity to end the greatest threat to our democracy in the last 150 years. Let’s not squander that chance preaching about high ideals while the democracy the author so obviously loves is under a constant and withering attack.
35
If we can’t leave it to the voters, there’s no point anyway. And I am tired of “leftists,” who think they’ll just play like the bad guys, and it’ll all be fine.
I heartily agree with Mr. Comey's "high road" outcome presented. Together with a reasonable and FREE Press, adherence to the " rule of law" is America's greatest export as well as its greatest attraction. You wanna make America great again? Let's reaffirm to the world that these are what makes America tick!
4
Well said. It would be great if we could show our justice system works.
2
Too bad that's all you want Mr. Comey. Let's tally up the Trump sphere. 34 people in Trump world have been indicted. 17 investigations are happening outside of congress, including SDNY. Eight cabinet secretaries have had ethics allegations lodged against them. Five people are going to prison and they were chief aids of DT.
Climate Change gets worse every day and the EPA is lead by coal companies.
The tariff war that was "easy to win" devastated American farmers and now Trump is saying the end date is unknown.
As a former marine, it sickens me to listen to DT criticize McCain.
It doesn't seem unreasonable to want DT out of office long before 2020.
62
@Mikey M
Thank you for your service in the Marines; my cousin served in Vietnam, so I understand "former Marine". Mueller is that and more. He will finish the job he was given; his staff will do a good job with no leaks.
I'm getting peeved as I reflect on Comey's statement and this short history. If DT isn't prosecutable, fine, than he's not. In most scenarios impeachment would be undesirable. I'd like to see it go down as Comey describes. HOWEVER, unlike Comey, for me this episode has undermined my faith in the FBI. My discomfort has to do with the mise-en-scene, not the outcome of Mueller's report.
What I've seen is an FBI that coddles extreme members of society by investigating Clinton openly in the press (appeasement?), despite precedent not supporting that action, while concurrently demonstrating total secrecy when it came to DT.
What I've seen is an FBI willing to accept that DT not answer questions directly under oath. This allowed him to control the narrative on twitter while denying Americans counter-facts that would be supplied from DT himself, had he been forced, under oath, to tell the truth. The FBI basically accepted Giulliani's "perjury trap" argument, that DT can't speak a lick of truth even if he tried. That ranks up there with "alternative facts."
With respect, some questions this raises for me are:
Is there a conscious/subconscious deferral to authority that the culture of the FBI cultivates, that it perceives embodied in DT? Was Clinton not seen as carrying the same authority? Was Clinton somehow seen as a threat? Was misogyny at play or was something else? Are the FBI afraid of DT's voters?
I see lingering problems here, and bad precedent for Democracy.
29
Thanks, Mr. Comey for writing this op-ed. I’m a fan. However, I have to disagree with you here. Even though we take a day off, presumably we could all afford it, we won’t get the resounding election result you inspired as long as we have partisan gerrymandering and electoral college vote system.
19
@Yumiana Woniwoji hate to disappoint but the electoral college isn’t going anywhere. It’s part of our constitution and would require, among other thing, three-fourths of the states to ratify via individual state conventions. Meh
3
Mr. Comey has demonstrated a lot of integrity in his career most of us are not capable of. I wish Trump could even muster a small portion of what Mr. Comey has demon
But I disagree with Mr. Comey's statement that he hopes Trump would not be impeached simply because impeachment would result in further fracturing in the society, for two reasons:
1. If Comey's true intention is to uphold the rule of law, then he should just hope whatever the appropriate actions be taken based on the findings, even if that means impeachment.
No one should be above the law, even if that meant a portion of the society are angry at the outcome of a honest investigation.
In my opinion, this one statement Comey makes just negated all of his previous intentions and he is essentially saying the country should base its decision to whether to impeach a president on how much influence the president has with his base.
That is essentially the same as being succumbed to blackmail.
2. There are essentially two opposite ideologies amongst the American population: inclusion vs exclusion, nationalism vs globalism, pro-science vs anti-science, pro-environment vs anti-environment, progressive vs regressive....
No one at this tine could say prior to the Civil War, that the North and South should consider other side's view point and reconcile their differences. You were either for slavery or against slavery.
Likewise, you can only be on one side of history. The polarization has a deep root cause.
17
Comey: "if Mr. Trump were removed from office by Congress, a significant portion of this country would see this as a coup."
Me: If Mr. Trump is NOT removed from office by Congress, a MAJORITY of this country would see it as a failing of the rule of law, the US Constitution with the complicity of the Republican party. There is nothing in the Constitution that requires us to tolerate a Malignant Narcissist for FOUR years.
Mueller is not the only act in town. He may or may not have found proof of criminal behavior by Trump. SDNY, New York AG and Manhattan DA are already investigating Trump et al.
Obstruction of justice and witness tampering are obvious infractions that can and should be charged against Trump. DOJ policy is not to indict a sitting president? This needs to be tested in the Courts. There are many Republicans who know that Trump is a clear and present danger to our democracy. They need to "step up."
40
@-APR
They will believe whatever they are told as long as the Right Wing propaganda machine is allowed to operate.
@APR (3.5%). What an unhappy six years to have ahead of you.
At one time Mr. Comey represented the rule of law and justice, but now it seems his a pariah to both sides in the Trump debacle as he allowed himself to become more a politician shifting in the wind. I can not help but take this article as a self serving attempt to reclaim some sort of personal dignity and respect rather than as a call to justice he pretends to portray. We can not really know what is in Mr. Comey's mind or heart, trashed on every side with some accusations justified, he seems just a sad character caught up in the Trump chaos.
8
It is an issue if impeachment is seen as a coup by Trump supporters who then may re-elect him, although that is unliely. It will be a disaster if the Report shows impeachable offenses, or obstruction of justice and/or criminal acts, and then there is a coup to stay in power, which is the most common pattern to taking over a country from the inside.
9
Actually, I think Trump's supporters might be more likely to accept his removal from office via impeachment than via defeat at the polls. If Trump loses the election, his minions will say there were voting irregularities but impeachment proceedings would be televised for all to see. If enough Republicans were willing to stand up for democracy, we could end this tragic episode in our nation's history sooner rather than later.
15
Like James Comey, I would prefer that Congress not file articles of impeachment against trump.
Instead, if criminal acts by trump are found with clear and demonstrable evidence, I would hope trump is indicted -- while in office.
The DOJ guideline that states a sitting president cannot be indicted goes back to the Richard Nixon presidency when Spiro Agnew, his vice president, was found to have taken bribes and resigned rather than face prosecution.
The rationale at the time was Nixon should not be indicted at the same time Agnew would be leaving office, creating a void at the top of our government..
It was a contrived policy, not found in our Constitution.
Indict trump if he is found to have committed crimes and try him in a court of law.
18